If I could turn back time
by Pathatlon
Summary: PG - Finished! - Yes another time-fic. Hermione had been sent back in time and can't get back. But, if you're there, you might as well get comfy. Main pairing HGSS
1. Default Chapter

**_Disclaimer:  
  
Any character you recognise from the World of Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling. I do not make any profit from it, it's purely entertainment.  
  
Please review  
  
Getting sick from staying in another world, future, past anything where you don't belong, is from His Dark Materials._  
  
First chap! – Getting mixed up  
**  
Hermione watched as her potion master swept gracefully over the floor inspecting the students' potions, then she was jerked back when professor Snape looked at her; she blushed and turned her gaze away and continued brewing the potion.  
  
It all happened so very fast. Neville had been told to add some Lavender, but had added Nub Holly instead, which Hermione hadn't realised since she had been in her own world.  
  
"MISS GRANGER! YOUR IDIOCY AND UNAWARENESS FOR THIS SUBJECT HAS MADE LONGBOTTOM SCREW IT, AGAIN! I THOUGHT LETTING YOU TWO PAIR WOULD SECURE A QUIET POTION LESSON!" Snape yelled out loud, pressing extra effort when yelling _'again'_, as the strong scent escaped from the cauldron. Hermione turned red from anger and embarrassment and Neville stumbled back shocked at Snapes yelling. He hit the cauldron, which suddenly began bobbling threatening, before knocking it over completely. Hermione shrieked as the cauldrons content streamed over her.

* * *

Hermione could hear voices, confused voices. Her head was hurting and she felt quite odd. She opened her eyes and was overwhelmed by the light in the room; everything was blurry until she rubbed her eyes sleepily.  
  
Judging by the bed, she was in the hospital wing. A screen was around her bed, making her unable to see those chattering.  
  
Hermione gave a little squeak as she trembling got out of bed. The voices stopped abruptly and an unfamiliar elderly female removed the screen.  
  
"Lie down, child," she said calming and made Hermione lay down in bed again.  
  
"Oh no! Professor Snape is really mad at me, isn't he? I am such a clumsy- head! I should have paid attention to Neville, I'd bet Snape's taken the opportunity to take hundred point from Gryffindor!" Hermione wailed nervously.  
  
"Snape? Professor?" A voice asked and Hermione turned her head looking into a great pair of beautiful eyes.  
  
"Sirius?" Hermione asked confused, she could recognise him from the picture of Harry's parents wedding; they were much alike. The boy looked at her confused.  
  
"Know this girl, Padfoot?" Another voice asked and Hermione once again squealed.  
  
"Harry! How's Snape? He must be really mad at me! Shit! What did he do to Neville?" Hermione looked at the boy who let his hands slip through his black messy hair in an adorable way. Hermione gasped shocked and looked at him, his scar was gone!  
  
"J-James?" She stuttered confused when she couldn't figure out who else it could be. It certainly wasn't Harry!  
  
"How do you know our names?" The two boys asked suspiciously eyeing her with fright.  
  
"I think, "a strong voice said and they all turned their heads towards the door, "that you should all leave, I'd like to speak with the young girl alone," Dumbledore strode carefully into the room and Hermione gaped, he looked younger somehow.  
  
"Dumbledore," she managed to say relieved. Something was missing in the look in his eyes.  
  
The two boys left glancing back at Dumbledore and her. Dumbledore asked the nurse to leave too. He was eyeing Hermione sharply as he stood at the end of the bed.  
  
"Who are you?" He asked and looked into her eyes, into her soul.  
  
"My name is Hermione Granger," Hermione informed apprehensively and looked away. "Where am I?" Her voice was trembling and even though she had a slight idea of the answer, Hermione hoped he would say else.  
  
"Hogwarts," he informed her and she nodded.  
  
"I know, but I meant... those two boys... James and Sirius, what year is it?" Hermione was almost on the edge of crying afraid of the answer she already knew.  
  
"1975," his blue eyes were frightening. Hermione recalled being told about the look he could give when he wasn't in his usually jolly-good mood by Harry. "I presume that you have been sent back in time, I haven't seen nor heart about any Hermione Granger until now," his eyes became slightly milder than before, and he swept up next to her bed. Hermione nodded.  
  
"Tell me..." He asked and Hermione felt forced to look into the blue sea. She nodded.  
  
Hermione told him the story as she remembered it, and reassured that she normally was awake in class and fully aware, that she had been distracted and her clumsy friend, Neville, had added the wrong ingredient, making it boil rapidly. He had incidentally knocked it over making the content gush over her. After that, things went dark and now she was there.  
  
"I do not know how to get you back, miss Granger, but I will do my very best to help you. Meanwhile you must tell me about the future, not much, just what you think is appropriate." Hermione looked at him slowly.  
  
"Is Voldemort in charge?" She asked and noticed the old wizard react surprised. He nodded and she snorted.  
  
"Operating in silence," he told her and she knew that his presence was more or less like fifth year. She calmed herself down before quietly telling about her life at Hogwarts, making sure not to mention Harry or his destiny or James's, Lilys and Sirius's destinies either. As much as she wished to prevent their deaths, she was sure that terrible things would happen if she did. Telling as much she could without revealing too much of the future about Voldemort or anything else, Hermione even told about her own life.  
  
"Well, until that you can return home, I guess it is best for you to stay here. By your telling, you're in Gryffindor, I shall lead you to the common room and tell the head girl about it," Hermione got her robe, which lay next to her on a table. On the front a neat tag with the initials HG – Gryffindor Head Girl.  
  
"I think miss Evans will be most displeased if you was to take over her post as head girl," he said in a gentle voice and Hermione nodded acceptably and slipped the tag down the pocket.  
  
"What will I say when they ask me about my past?" Hermione asked glancing at the thoughtful professor.  
  
"I think," his voice was slow and thinking carefully through it all, "that you should give up another name, and I also think that it would be an idea not to tell them where you are from. Tell," he paused thinking and Hermione stepped out of bed and got on her student robe. "That you've studied in other countries, I believe there is an international wizarding school in Australia," Hermione nodded and left the hospital wing with Albus Dumbledore. "I shall inform the school about it at dinner time, but now, I will let you get comfortable."  
  
"I guess I can use the name," Hermione tried to think of a name, "Holly," she said when remembering that that was the reason for the potions accident, "Holly Weasley," she looked at Dumbledore who raised an eyebrow.  
  
"We've already had a Weasley, five years ago," he said and Hermione smiled and tried to find another last name.  
  
"Holly Hermione Granger Raven," Hermione then said thinking that Raven wasn't the most ordinary name; at least no one else would be named the same. "Just don't mention the Granger part, then it'll all seem normal, just don't want to loose my name," Hermione pleaded quietly. Dumbledore nodded in accept and they soon stopped outside the portrait to the Gryffindor common room.  
  
"Miss Evans," Dumbledore called out and Hermione felt a jolt in her stomach as a beautiful red-haired girl jumped up from her seat. "Meet miss Holly Hermione Raven," Hermione felt her inner crumble as she reached Lilys hand politely. It was nice and warm and suddenly Hermione felt like throwing up. Dumbledore noticed her reaction even though it was silent; he immediately broke the bond and spoke.  
  
"Miss Raven is on her seventh year, I expect you, as head girl, to take care of her and introduce her to people, miss Evans," Dumbledore said politely and Lily smiled a great smile and dragged Hermione over to a small group of people. Hermione glanced at Dumbledore giving him a final smile before he left.  
  
"This is Holly Hermione Raven," Lily said and pointed at each of her friends saying their names.  
  
"She already know our names," James said from a chair in front of the fire. It was the same chair Harry usually sat in too. Lily stopped looking slightly surprised. "How did you know our names, really?" James looked at Hermione as she felt a knot tightening in her throat.  
  
"Well, I've seen you... before... I saw you at a Quidditch match once I visited, I just remembered that someone with black messy hair was called Ha- James and his best friend Sirius," her response was taking to consideration for acceptance and Lily pulled a chair up for her.  
  
"Well, if you already know James and Sirius, then this is Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew," Lily pointed at two boys. Hermiones eyes suddenly burned when she saw Peter and she narrowed them cruelly before putting on an almost too sweet smile. Hermione turned towards Lupin and smiled more warmly than before. She remembered something about Lupin being a prefect in a weak attempt to restore Sirius and James's common sense. She snorted knowing that it hadn't worked.  
  
"I saved you!" Sirius blurted out and they all laughed except Hermione who seemed rather nervous.  
  
"Where did I end up exactly?" Hermione then broke off the laughs and noticed Lily taking a seat next to her lover.  
  
"You came from nowhere into the potion room unconscious, I took you to the hospital wing," he seemed very proud and Hermione got the distinct feeling of throwing up again. The thought of pairing with Harrys godfather was sickening, even though he was cute and they were the same age right now. She shuddered, same age. At this point she wasn't even born.  
  
"I've read in..." Lily started out but was cut off by her friends frowning at her. Hermione knew how she felt.  
  
"In Hogwarts – A History," Hermione continued her sentence, forgetting that she was supposed to keep low.  
  
"Yes..." Lily said screwing her head slightly to the side.  
  
"You can't Apperate or Disapperate within Hogwarts grounds... and I didn't, really," Hermione said truly. "Who's leading the Quidditch match?" Hermione asked trying to change the path of the conversation. If Harry and James were alike with personalities, then it would be easy to change subject. And it was.  
  
"Us! We totally slaughtered Hufflepuf last time!" Hermione saw the familiar sparkle in his eyes that Harry also possessed, when speaking of Quidditch. Hermione smiled and had to restrain herself from not throwing herself towards him in a great hug.  
  
The conversation flooded along and Hermione was now familiar with a lot of things. She was even invited along to a secret party in Hogsmaede the following weekend. Hermione accepted thinking she might as well get the best out of it while being back in time.  
  
Dinner was upon them and Hermione hurried to clean herself up, before she followed with her new friends down to the Great Hall, which looked like it usually did. They took a seat at the end of the table discussing a lot of things. Hermione was in an animated conversation with Lily and Remus who she sat between. The headmaster got up from his seat in the hearth of the head table. All chattering ceased and Hermione couldn't help but smile at it.  
  
"Before we eat I'd like to bid welcome a new student of ours, miss Raven in her seventh year, Gryffindor," Hermione stood up and blushed as hundreds of faces turned towards her. She took her seat again and Dumbledore told them to tug in.  
  
Hermione started out just listening to her surroundings. Then Sirius began questioning her about her past and Hermione told that she wasn't that fond of her past and wished not to talk about it. She did mention that she had lived in Australia and attended some international wizarding school. Yes, lack of information made them all curious, but nonetheless they respected her wish not to talk too much about it. Then Hermione was caught up in another conversation with Remus along with Sirius, and Peter who was just listening.  
  
Hermione discovered she could have interesting conversations with Lily and Remus while Sirius and James would joke around with Peter running behind studying them. Hermione felt utterly uncomfortable every time she saw Peter. Finally she decided that he hadn't joined Voldemort at that time, and even though he was a pathetic little twist of a human being, she would be nice to him and hopefully be rewarded with cleverness from his side one day.  
  
The first weekend had gone by and Hermione found herself, for once, not using her time in the library, but having fun.  
  
The following week would be her first real week; she had yet not attended any DADA, magical creatures, or potion lessons and was really anxious to get started. Lily was also friend with Miranda who was a seventh year Gryffindor too. Hermione, Miranda, and Lily were the only seventh year girls except for two other girls who were almost never seen around. Lily had her own room for being head girl, so there were only four girls sleeping in the dormitory. Hermione had already met most of the teachers; it wasn't that different from her own world, only a bit.  
  
The Arithmancy teacher was called Professor Panda (Hermione nearly fell of her chair first time she heard it). Charms were the same teacher, professor Flitwick and Transfiguration was professor McGonagall. She suspected an elder woman who always wore strange boots, to be the Magical creatures teacher and then there was a young professor Sprout in Herbology. The other teachers were mysteries to Hermione, well except one other person, Hagrid, the outside caretaker, and half giant. Hermione knew, from Harry, that Hagrid had been expelled from Hogwarts in his third year and that Dumbledore had persuaded, at that time, headmaster Dippet to train him as caretaker. She wondered if Dumbledore knew that it wasn't Hagrid who had let out the horrible creature...  
  
Monday morning Miranda awaked Hermione with much annoyance. Normally Hermione was a quickie to get up, but the weekend seemed to have taken away her strengths.  
  
"Hol! Holly!" Miranda yelled and hit her with one of the pillows. Hermione turned around, and opened her eyes while yawning.  
  
Finally Hermione got up and took a fresh shower before getting her cloths and school robes. Dumbledore had helped her out a bit knowing that she had no money.  
  
Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James were waiting in the common room when Hermione and Miranda entered. Lily, who didn't have a room in the Gryffindor tower, met them, as usual, in the Great Hall.  
  
They were only metres away from the doors to the Great Hall, when a young, black-haired and very familiar, boy entered.  
  
"_Snivilus_!" James yelled out and Hermione saw the boy freeze before he entered and disappeared through the doors. She knew who that boy was. She glanced at Sirius and James who was howling of laughter and then turned her gaze away from them when they entered the Great Hall.  
  
"Why don't you let him go?" Hermione finally spoke when they were eating breakfast. James looked at Hermione for a second before remembering what she talked about. He shrugged and she heard Sirius say that it was because he existed. She sighed annoyed wishing to pursue the matter when Remus whispered something to her.  
  
"They'll grow up sooner or later," he whispered. She sighed followed by a weak smile. She knew how the future was like.  
  
Their first class was DADA and Hermione took a seat with her friends on first row.  
  
"Good morning," a cheerful man stepped into the room and glanced at them all. "Ah! You must be miss Raven!" He walked over to her and shook her hand while she nodded. "I am professor Bloominus," he returned to his desk and took a seat.  
  
"Much is going on in the world and it is required that every person has to know about the danger before leaving Hogwarts," he looked at the students and Hermione had already a notebook ready. "Who can tell me what the Unforgivable Curses is?" Hermione shot her hand up almost before he finished the sentence; he smiled pleasantly nudging his head towards her.  
  
"They are three curses which will be enough reason for landing in the Azkaban prison," she started out softly, her eyes had turned sad and she suddenly felt bad being there telling about it. The professor urged her to go on awarding her five points. "The first one is the Imperius Curse, complete control over another human being, you can make a person do whatever you please."  
  
Hermione could hear some of the students gasp surprised before going on. "Then there is Cruciatus curse, inflict torture course..." gasps was heard once again before Hermione went on. "Third one and worst of all of them," it felt like the class held their breaths as Hermione spoke, she was surprised how little they knew about this. "Avada Kedavra." She said and let out some air like the rest of the class. "It's the killing curse, mainly used under the..." Hermione stopped remembering that she was in the middle of the first war and was uncertain of it was a good thing to mention. "...Leaves the victim with open eyes and stiff as a if under the stunning spell with fear written in their faces..." Everyone seemed slightly flabbergasted at her words and the professor nodded.  
  
"Miss Raven is quite right. You seem to know so much about this, can you tell me if there is a counter curse?"  
  
"Yes, no, well there is in some way..." Hermione started out and the professor moved in his chair.  
  
"There is really no counter curse for Avada Kadavra or Cruciatus, but if you've been under Imperius many times and have a strong mind, you are able to break the spell," once again her professor nodded and Hermione fell silent.  
  
"Ten points, miss Raven," he rewarded her. She didn't know if she should smile, the topic was quite delicate to her. Voldemort had killed her parents with Avada Kadavra and she now sat in a room with people-who-was to be/had been killed by the curse.  
  
Hermione found it unnerving that people didn't know that Voldemort was back... well, back it so much to say. That Voldemort was rising. She felt like being back in her fifth year when the Ministry of Magic had concealed the truth about his return, people were having fun as if everything was ay okay.  
  
"I've been given permission from the ministry and the headmaster to curse you under the Imperius so that you know how it feels, do not worry, nothing bad will happen," Hermione sank in her chair.  
  
The last one who said that was a madman.  
  
They were all lined up and each student was cursed. Some laughed as the first student under it was told to jump around. The professor let him go and glared at them all furiously.  
  
"I do not see the funny thing in this, perhaps you will be able to pinpoint it? What's to laugh about when under Imperius? This is a curse that allows another person control you!" His voice was sharp and Hermione was surprised to find such temper in him. "Kill yourself, and if under that curse, you will!" The students seem to shrink, especially Sirius and James. "Now, next!"  
  
Hermione stepped forward with an annoying feeling in her stomach. She heard the words just before she felt like being in heaven. His sharp words telling her to jump were cutting through the curse. She bended her knees and then stopped. She remembered Harry telling about it when he had managed to slip through the curse. He told her to jump again, but she didn't move "Why should I?" She asked herself. Soon she was brought back and almost fell to the floor. They all looked at her surprised and she now knew how Harry had felt. She blushed and suddenly found her nails interesting.  
  
"Miss Raven, how did you do that?" The skilled DADA professor asked. She looked up and wrinkled her nose before answering.  
  
"Well, I just didn't feel like jumping... resisting..." she told him and they were dismissed."Hey Holly!" Her friends rounded her before she could get away. "Are you okay?" Sirius asked concerned and Hermione nodded.  
  
"Have you tried it before?" James asked stupidly and was immediately hit hard in the ribs by Lily.  
  
"My last school taught us in this, um... that time I was effected, I guess I've just grown or something, I don't know," Hermione let out a long stream of air as they went to the next class.  
  
Annoyed by the thought that the whole school would know before lunch, Hermione took her seat in potions.  
  
It was a sweet young woman called professor Holiday, who was teaching and Hermione could easily say, that this was the most relaxed potion lesson she had ever experienced. She looked around and met a pair of black eyes. She smiled noticing it was her potions master... well her fellow student for now. He blushed and removed his gaze from hers. Hermione felt stunned, _had he blushed? Was he shy? OH MY GOD! _Hermione could help giggling while she prepared to do the potion.  
  
Hermione liked to work alone then she was able to show her skills completely.  
  
"Can anyone tell me what this potion is called, what it is used for and how you found out of it?" The professor Holiday asked when she had written some ingredients up on the blackboard. Hermiones hand shot up followed by Snapes. "Miss Raven, is that right?" The professor asked and Hermione nodded, "go ahead."  
  
"Well, judging (she tried to sound like an expert) from the "main" ingredients, Amphor and Thick Roots, it's not common ingredients in standard potions. Thick Roots is mainly used in co-operation with healing because it is close to the ground, earth. Amphor is dried leaves from a special oak that can only be found in the forbidden forest. It has a special sedative effect when used in potions." Hermione looked at the blackboard to see if she had missed any ingredient, which could turn it upside down. "Well, it doesn't seem like there is any ingredients for it to lead away from a healing potion and I reckon it can be used to calm down persons, remove the pain..."  
  
"Miss Raven is quite right, ten point to Gryffindor," The professor smiled and Hermione returned it. A small cheer was heard in the class and Hermione felt someone padding her on the shoulder. She smiled that she wasn't scowled over and called a miss-know-it-all.  
  
Being the best student ever attending Hogwarts in fifty years (though being back in time it was a little less), Hermione made potion to perfection earning ten points to Gryffindor for a cleverness and potion skills.  
  
"Is there anything you can't do?" Her friends asked as they headed for lunch. Hermione smiled vaguely and blushed.  
  
"You really outdid Snivilus!" Sirius exclaimed and Hermione sent him a rather cold look, but he didn't notice.  
  
"Yeah, the greasy git didn't even get to load of his knowledge," James encouraged and Hermione shuddered slightly annoyed that he was still called greasy git.  
  
"He's actually quite sweet and intelligent!" She finally blurted out and her friends stared at her in horror. "Trust me on this, he's..." Hermione didn't know how to describe him and then she gasped startling her friends. She had just realized that she was in love with her potion master. And what about his young appearance, she didn't know him. Her friends looked at her nervously and she smiled.  
  
"Just got an idea," Hermione lied and ate her lunch.

Time travelled fast and it was already Thursday. Hermione had a meeting with Dumbledore Friday afternoon and now she was heading for potions.  
  
"Good afternoon class," professor Holiday said exited. "Today we're going to be working in pairs. Some of you wish to work alone, but not this time. You have to learn to work with others," the professor clapped her hands together excitedly and people began scattering around. First Hermione was unsure of whom she should be with. Lily was with Remus and James with Sirius. She considered for a moment Peter when she noticed Snape sitting in a corner by himself. Hermiones stomach jolted for a second and she swung her bag and headed for him. She stood in front of him and with a sweet and polite 'hem-hem' she made Snape look up at her.  
  
"Is this seat taken?" She looked into his intense eyes before he looked away. Wow, she had won an eyeing contest! Against Snape! He shook his head and she smiled and dumped her bag next to the table and took a seat. Her friends, well actually the whole class (Gryffindors and Slytherins) looked at her as she took a seat next to him.  
  
The assignment began and Hermione found it just as hard to lead a conversation with him as it was with the adult Snape.  
  
"My name is Holly Raven," she said confident, he looked up into her eyes before returning to the project. "You're Snape, Severus Snape," she tried to start a conversation again before she, with her wand, summoned the ingredients they needed. Snape lit the fire beneath their cauldron.  
  
Okay, by the end of the class Hermione had to realise, that getting into a conversation with Snape was completely impossible.  
  
"It was nice working with you, Severus," she smiled a sincere smile and stalked off with her friends.  
  
"What are you trying Holly?" Sirius asked as they had gotten up from the cold dungeons.  
  
"What do you mean, Padfoot?" She asked innocently as they headed for the common room.  
  
"You're trying to befriend Snivilus..." Peter added and Hermione shot him an evil glare, and you could almost see him running for cover behind Sirius and James.  
  
"For your information, yes, he is brilliant when it comes to potions. He has a great mind. You can see it just by looking at him," Hermione let her bag fall to the floor and fell into a chair in the hearth of the room. "Just leave it to me, I am sure I can break through the skull of his. Besides, I think it is ridicules with all that hatred between Gryffindor and Slytherin. And it's only between those two houses. If you ask me, it's immature" Hermione told plainly and got out her homework.  
  
Her work was soon done, all those hours of studying in the library had always paid off and had made it possible to do her homework quickly, but precise as always.  
  
"You guys, I'm heading for the library..." Hermione said and trailed off. She was shivering lightly as she walked the corridors of Hogwarts with her black school robe billowing around her.  
  
The library was deserted when Hermione entered; it was perfect. Nothing to distract her from throwing herself into loads of books. She gathered half a million books and headed towards the end of the library. She had a favourite spot in the library. Just beneath the window in the far end of the library stood a table, which she loved to sit at. She turned around a corner (a bookshelf) when she found her table occupied. She stood in some moments biting her lower lip; he looked so sweet and so shy.  
  
"Is this seat taken?" She asked carefully. He shook his head without even looking at her. "Thank you," she put down the books carefully and began reading while taking notes. Since she didn't have her notes here in the past, she had to get some new.  
  
"_As _I told my friends, I think it is pretty immature that Gryffindor and Slytherin loathes each other..." She said smugly and opened the first book.  
  
"Why? If you are so arrogant, then why don't just leave it to those involved?" His voice was low and carefully. Hermione was quite taken aback by his answer.  
  
"Arrogant? Yes of course. I could leave you and let you be tortured by my friends..."  
  
"Then why don't you?" He looked up from his book and so did Hermione. She could recognise him again. Maybe it was because they were alone that he didn't feared being cold.  
  
"Why should I?" She questioned. He looked into the book of his again, but Hermione knew he wasn't reading.  
  
He soon closed his book and excused himself. Hermione watched him disappear before letting her head fall between her hands. _Why is he being so stubborn? He should be in Gryffindor then!_  
  
The evening crept over quietly and Hermione headed back to the Gryffindor tower to meet her friends before dinner.  
  
Arriving in the Great Hall caused many to stare at Hermione. She sighed and took a seat. She school probably knew that she had tried to "befriend" professor Snape... Snape... Severus.  
  
"Holly, look!" Lily punched Hermione carefully, snapping her out of her own world. Hermione looked confused at Lily. "That boy over there, don't look, he's the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, Alexander Orland. He asked me a lot of questions about you and now he's looking at you!" Hermione turned her head slightly noticing the guy smile and remove his gaze from her.  
  
One thing she had learned attending Hogwarts, was that pretty faces didn't necessarily mean a sweet personality. She learned that the hard way, Gildory Lockhart. She sighed embarrassed and shoved the idea away. She was only interested in one thing now, to befriend Severus Snape.  
  
"If he asked you out, would you say yes?" Lily asked quietly so that Miranda had to stretch her neck to hear every word.  
  
"I don't think so..." She responded thoughtfully.  
  
"Why not? He's gorgeous!" Lily sniggered but immediately cut it ff by the look from James. "I am pairing her with him, not myself," she said reassuringly and kissed him. Hermione felt slight twinge in her heart.  
  
"Please no, there are more than just pretty faces. I once knew this really good looking man, he turned out to be a complete fraud..." Hermione informed them. Gildory Lockhart, he was nothing more than a pretty face. Now looking back in the mirror Hermione was quite unsure why she fell for him, he was certainly not _THAT_ pretty.  
  
"Are you interested in someone else? I am sure I can fix you up with him," Lily smiled a sneaky smile and Hermione shook her head laughing. She hadn't believed that Lily was the great matchmaker.  
  
"No thank you, Lil. I can manage it by myself I'm sure," Hermione giggled and threw her head to the side making her hair loosen up. Her hair cascaded down her back in great curls, and she didn't even notice the many stares she attracted when doing it. Her once tangled hair had been replaced with glorious curls, matching with her deep brown liquid eyes.


	2. 2

**Second chap! - Dealing with monsters  
**_Yes I am aware that Lucius don't attend Hogwarts at the same time as Severus, but it's MY fic! :P_

The first month had gone by silently and Hermione was getting anxious. She had expected to be back by now.  
  
She was pacing back and forth in the common room while every one else was at dinner. Her meeting with Dumbledore had gone smoothly as it should. Hermione had asked if she couldn't use a time turner, but was told that she couldn't. She had to go back way same way as she came. Making the potion that she and Neville did and then adding the wrong ingredient wouldn't do, that would most likely just send her further back in time.  
  
While Dumbledore did his best to come up with a solution, Hermione was attending classes and having fun with her friends. She had already shown her great mind and cleverness and therefore she had been allowed to take the classes in N.E.W.T standard.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry!" Hermione apologized as she stumbled into someone and both of his and her things fell to the floor. Hermione ducked to pick it up. "Severus..." She said as she met his black eyes while they collected their things. "I'm glad to see you, I need to talk to you about our potion project..."  
  
"You're that new Gryffindor, right?" A voice broke off her sentence. Hermione found herself looking up into a deep set of grey icy eyes.  
  
"Yes..." She got up form the floor along with Severus.  
  
"It's not healthy to wander off alone at this time..." His grey eyes became shiny, Hermione looked at her watch, it was just before curfew.  
  
"Lucius Malfoy," Hermione spoke quietly and looked into his glossy eyes again. "Is that a threat? I dare you to try anything and you'll be ending up in the hospital wing for at least a week! Now, bugger off," Hermione voice was cold and icy as she looked at him. She had had enough of Malfoys. One Malfoy spoiled her present; she wouldn't let the past to be spoiled too!  
  
"You think you can win?" His cold eyes glimmered from the reflection of a nearby, lit, torch and Hermione sighed annoyed. He hated her for being muggleborn in the present; here he hated her for being in Gryffindor.  
  
"Mr. Lucius Malfoy, I do not wish to fight. I find the fight between Gryffindor and Slytherin rather stupid. We do not have to be friends if you don't want to, but do not curse me or try anything stupid or you will regret it, it is not a threat, it is a promise..." Hermiones words hung in the air sharply and Snape who had long gone to stand behind Lucius looked down the floor nervously. Hermione knew that he had no real friends and she knew that Malfoy would never help him out if anything happened. Damn cowards those Slytherins. She had always known that and so did everyone else that was why he stayed by himself.  
  
"What makes you so sure that you would win?" He continued and Hermione felt like breaking his neck. Gosh, what an imbecile idiot!  
  
"Goodbye Malfoy, see you Severus!" Hermione turned around on her heel and headed for the Gryffindor tower. Her wand was firmly placed in her hand ready to strike if he did anything.  
  
Luckily nothing happened and when she was sure she was out of sight, she began to run. She wasn't sure that she could win over Malfoy, but she wasn't going to let him know that.  
  
"Where've you been?" Remus asked as she entered the common room. She walked over to them and took a seat. Sirius and James were playing chess while Peter was observing it. Lily sat next to James and did her homework while Remus was doing his homework too. It was odd to see Remus looking so healthy. He didn't have any bags under his eyes and he looked so fresh. Well not that fresh as he looked a week ago, but Hermione had noted that it was soon going to be full moon. Miranda was at detention for being rude in class.  
  
"Library, and then I met Malfoy..." She yawned and relaxed herself into the chair.  
  
"He didn't try anything, did he?" Lily asked sharply looking up from her homework.  
  
"If he had tried anything, he would have ended up in the hospital wing," Hermione snorted coolly and got up from her seat. "I will hit the dorm. G'night!" She waved tiredly and climbed she stairs and entered.  
  
The two girls, Maria and Jessica were already asleep when Hermione entered. She climbed her four-poster and fell asleep.  
  
Hermione met up with the others along with Miranda the following morning.  
  
"Rumus, you look really sick..." Hermione informed when she looked at Remus who seemed to have gotten very ill over the night. The friends snorted quietly and looked at him curiously.  
  
"Well... yes... I have received a message from my mother... and..." He started out telling the same story he had once told his friends before they found out.  
  
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," Hermione told him and to her friends surprise. She knew she should pretend that she didn't know about it, but the thought of being left out every month was surely going to annoy her.  
  
"I've known many people with the same... um... problem... I won't tell anything," Remus looked at her nervously before speaking.  
  
"What do you mean?" He looked at his friends, who immediately backed away, in a silent answer that they hadn't told anything.  
  
"Well it is full moon soon," she said and let the conversation flow mutely. "Shall we head for breakfast, I'm actually starving!" Hermione blurted out and headed for the portrait.  
  
"How did you guess?" Remus asked quietly as they descended the stairs.  
  
"As I told you, I've known a few myself. Beside, I know the symptoms. I presume you had just returned from another round of it when I arrived, it had just been full moon... I just noticed how you felt and remembered a dear friend of mine," her voice was soothing when she spoke and made sure that she had no problem with having a werewolf as a friend.  
  
Silently Hermione laid down a plan. Maybe if she talked with Dumbledore, she could help him create the potion so that Remus could go through his transfiguration without having so much pain.  
  
The potion, which professor Snape usually created around full moon for Remus when attending third year, had just newly been discovered. She remembered that Snape loathed Harry because of his father. They had made a prank on him. She couldn't tell about the potion until that had happened. Hermione thought it best to let them hate each other than to change the past and future completely. She needed to know if Severus had tried to follow them, it had happened in their seventh years she remembered. As an answer to her silent question Sirius spoke.  
  
"We found out that he was a werewolf," an annoyed Remus hushed down Sirius, before he continued, "in our first year. Just last month, before you arrived, I told Snivilus about a secret that would happen. Eager as he was..."  
  
"He followed it? You put his life in danger?" Hermione asked annoyed. She was really annoyed by Sirius's stupidity sometimes. He hauled and nodded along with James.  
  
"And you think that was clever of you to do?" She asked arching and eyebrow at him. They had stopped and Hermione awaited his answer.  
  
"Okay, so I know I am a bit stupid, I shouldn't have done it... But still it was fun, beside the fact that he could've been killed, but dear James saved his butt..." they continued walked and Hermione loosened up again.  
  
After breakfast Hermione told her friends to tell the teacher that she needed to speak with Dumbledore, but she would be arriving later.  
  
She stood outside of a gargoyle to which she had to tell the password.  
  
"Miss Raven, what can I help you with?" A voice said and Hermione was surprised to see McGonagall.  
  
"Professor McGonagall, I need to see professor Dumbledore," Hermione told the headmistress. She wondered for a second how long she had been at Hogwarts at that time.  
  
"Sweet lemons," McGonagall told and the gargoyle began to turn and revealed a staircase. Hermione thanked and followed it up leaving McGonagall behind.  
  
"Come in," a sweet voice said when Hermione had knocked on the door. She stepped inside and looked around. "Miss Granger, sit down," he smiled pleasantly at her as she took a seat in front on the desk, "lemon drop?" he asked and pushed a small plate towards her, "tea and cookies," he flicked his wand and tea and cookies appeared.  
  
Hermione sipped some of the tea before telling her purpose.  
  
"Well, you see... In the future, you discover a cure for Remus Lupin's problem..." Hermione started out watching the old wizard closely. "I was wondering if you want to discover it earlier and help him out now or if it should be left to the real occasion?" He thought about it before speaking.  
  
"We shouldn't change the future, I do not know if that it such a good idea..."  
  
"The only thing I know will effect the future has already happened..." Hermione told and shifted into a more comfortable position in the chair.  
  
"I am already researching for methods in helping werewolves, I guess you can give me some clues and then I shall do the rest on my own," he told her and she nodded.  
  
"Well, I guess... Blue daisy collected at full moon," she informed as the main ingredient. "I guess that's the most important," she told him, he nodded.  
  
"Thank you miss Granger, I shall remember that,"  
  
"I must be going, have to get to class," she said goodbye and headed off.  
  
"What was it you needed to talk with professor Dumbledore about?" Remus asked after their last class that day.  
  
"Nothing, just a quick question..." they slipped into a small corridor leading off to a secret passage to the Gryffindor Tower. "What was that?" Hermione stopped him when she felt a cold breeze streamed through her. Her friends looked at her unsure.  
  
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked as he looked around the small corridor.  
  
_"I don't know when she'll be back from the past... I know that's where she's gone. We all expected it to happen from the day we first laid eyes on her. If it hadn't happened, the future would be different than we know it..." _Hermione looked around shuddering. She recognised that voice; it was Dumbledore. Her heart was pumping incredibly fast as another voice spoke.  
  
_"Albus, this is too odd!" _The voice of McGonagall spoke, and Hermione almost screamed. She was connected with the future! Her friends looked at her tensely when the voices disappeared.  
  
"Nothing, I just thought I heard something," Hermione explained making her best effort to seem sincere. "Weird place Hogwarts," she smiled brightly and they went on.  
  
Hermione had certain ideas of the visions her friends had of her. Though they didn't bother her by asking about her past, she could feel how the questions ached in them.  
  
How she had just dumped into the potion room and why no one knew about her past. How she resisted the Imperius curse and how she was able to answer every single question in every single class. Ay yes, a mystery she was. In a strange way, she enjoyed the stares she got. The puzzlement about her was cool; it was nice to be a mystery.  
  
Hermione hadn't spoken with Severus except in class, and then it was mostly her who spoke while Severus just worked and Lucius Malfoy sat with his partner looking at them suspiciously.  
  
"That is the most ridicules article I've ever in my so very strange life have read!" Hermione announced in potions.  
  
"Yeah," Severus agreed darkly. They had been told to find their potion partner and read and article and then give up their opinion. They all were to sit with their partner discussing the article and why they loved/hated it.  
  
The article was about a man telling about potions. A regular journalist was telling about his opinion in potions. The article was meant to annoy them so that the teacher could see their reactions.  
  
Hermione thought the man was a complete idiot with no whatsoever clue in potions while Snape thought he was a screwed up moron.  
  
"Of course if he didn't pay attention, then it's his own fault... Potion needs attention all the time. You can't leave it for just a minute. I needs..."  
  
"Caring and awareness all the time! Not to mention interest," Hermione added to his sentence and he nodded eagerly. "What an idiot, I think I'll write to him and tell him a thing or two!" Hermione had been really mad about the article, there's nothing worse than listening to a guy explaining something, which he really doesn't have a clue about.  
  
**_And so this was the beginning on a beautiful friendship.  
_**  
Hermione and Severus stayed after class discussing the article while the rest headed off. It had been the last class that day and Hermione and Severus walked together to the library to do their homework while discussing. The subject rounded the article and headed in a new direction and so they spend the entire day having the most intellectual conversation ever. They even skipped dinner just to talk.  
  
"I know Slytherins hates muggles and so on, but I really think that a lot of muggle artists are good," Hermione told him as they conversed about artists. "Lot of different music while the wizarding world haven't developed anything different, look at the clothes for example," Hermione said and Severus nodded slightly.  
  
"I guess you're right. And I am fascinated by muggle art. I like the literature," Snape got out a book from his back and Hermione almost laughed out loud. How surprising, Snape, into muggle literature. Who would have thought?  
  
"The Golden Valley," Hermione read the cover. She opened it carefully and looked at the first pages, "what's it about?"  
  
"Mysteries, it's a good book, I've read it at least ten time. You can borrow it if you want to," Hermione blushed and nodded.  
  
"Thank you, I'd like that." She put down the book. "There's no museums in the wizarding world, why is that? I love art. Do you like anything else from the muggle world?"  
  
"Well, when I'm home I like to listen to classical music, like,"  
  
"Beethoven!" Hermione almost yelled exited and he nodded smiling brightly.  
  
"He is the best composer ever!" Snape told and then they discussed classical music.  
  
It became regular for them to meet up after school in the library where they spend their time studying and doing their homework.  
  
Hermione took him to the room of requirement sometimes, where they spend hours sitting, and talking between books and pillows.  
  
Hermione had before tried to wait for him at the library, but when realising that he wasn't coming. It wasn't a real deal that they HAD to meet up, they just did. Sometimes Hermione didn't come because that she spent time doing pranks with her friends and sometime Severus didn't come either.  
  
"How is it you already know the secrets passages?" Peter one day asked as they had returned from a nice day in Hogsmaede secretly. Her friends looked at her and she knew that some of the beans had to be spilled. This mystery thing was too much, especially since Hermione wasn't that good lying.  
  
"Well, I've known a few people who attended the school long ago, they told be about some of the secrets..." she informed them and slipped into a chair. Her friends looked at her a little curiously. She was so tired right now and she wished so much that she could tell them the truth and save their lives. She became depressed and got up. "I'm off to shower," her voice was a little frosty.  
  
Hermione entered her dorm and went over to a small to across the room, which led to the bathroom. Once the small one man's tub was filled Hermione slipped in. The hot water embraced her body and she closed her eyes.  
  
Everything was so stressing. Remus was gone to visit his sick mother, which meant that he was hiding in the howling house in Hogsmaede. Homework was luckily not so stressful since Hermione had a great head start; she came from the future with better and detailed books. The thing that was stressing her most was the fact that she was now, very good friends with a lot of people and she knew the date of their deaths.  
  
Hermione woke up coughing, gasping for air. She had fallen asleep in the bathtub and had accidentally slipped under water in her sleep. She looked out the bathroom window; it was dark.  
  
"Bloody hell!" Hermione exclaimed bothered as she climbed out the tub. She got on her cloths and student robe and found her watch, it was ten in the evening, and she had missed out on dinner.  
  
The dormitory was empty and Hermione figured that people were in the common room.  
  
"Hey Holly," Sirius smiled at her as she entered, she gave him a quick hug and then took a seat in the couch.  
  
"I fell asleep in the tub," Hermione said and took a seat next to Peter. Peter and her had gotten better friends than before, but still, she could not help cursing him for his future.  
  
"Clever girl," Sirius gave wicked smile.  
  
She looked at Peter and Sirius who was playing chess. "Where are Lily and James?" She asked and the answer came just as she had asked, "don't tell me, I think I have an idea," she rolled her eyes giggling. Lily and James had a thing for disappearing in the middle of it all. Then they would show up hours later and act like they'd been around all the time.  
  
Hermione played with her head girl badge in her pocket, it was cold, but within minutes her hand had warmed it up.  
  
"Something is about to fall out of your chest pocket in your uniform," Peter told her and Hermione looked down her chest, a small piece of paper had made its way half way out of her chest pocket, maybe it had happened when she had thrown it on the floor before taking a shower.  
  
She got the paper and realised what it was. Her eyes became filled with tears but she brushed them away before Sirius or Peter noticed anything.  
  
It was a picture with Harry, Ron, and her around Christmas in their sixth year; she had kept it in her uniform pocket, close to her heart. Harry and Ron was smiling greatly at her and waving furiously. She was doing the exact same thing, waving and smiling. Harry and Ron had an arm around Hermione who was in the middle of them. Her mouth began to shudder lightly before once again brushing away tears. She put the picture down in the pocket and rubbed her face.  
  
"So, who's leading?" She asked to two boys with a slightly shakily voice.  
  
"Padfoot," Peter answered and moved his knight towards Sirius's Queen. The knight yelled at Peter, but before he could finish his sentence he was knocked over by a tower. Peter sighed and Sirius laughed.  
  
"Peter, is it possible to be worse than you?" Sirius asked laughing while shaking his head.  
  
"I think wizards chess it totally barbaric, I remember Ron and Harr..." Hermione fell silent and began biting her lip nervously.  
  
"Holly, are you okay?" Sirius asked concerned.  
  
"Yeah, I just..." she trailed off with some mumbling that didn't make sense.  
  
"We're friends, you know you can tell everything," Sirius's voice was calm and trustful, but Hermione knew she couldn't tell it. "Holly?" He asked again.  
  
"It's nothing," Hermione promised, Sirius brushed away some of her tears and didn't press the matter.  
  
**_The hours of the days shortened as the winter arrived along with November.  
_**  
"Tell me about you, Severus Snape," Hermione asked as she took a seat down the lake with him. It was a cold afternoon, but with a little help from magic, Hermione created dancing flames, which surrounded with warmth.  
  
Severus murmured something out low.  
  
"Severus, you don't have to tell me if you do not wish to. But I am your friend and if you ever need to talk, then I'm here..." her voice was calm while she looked into his dark eyes. When they were alone he wasn't so shy, he had become more open.  
  
"The same to you," he told her with a raised eyebrow, Hermione looked away biting her lip.  
  
"Thank you." Silence ruled some minutes while they both relaxed in each other's company.  
  
"There are so many rumours about you," Severus said breaking the silence. Hermione looked up at him while playing with some grass. "Nobody knows who you are, some say you've studied in other countries and others say that you're not who you claim to be..." he looked at her for reaction. Hermione cocked an eyebrow taken aback.  
  
"Who says I'm not the one I claim to be?" Severus looked at his hands before replying.  
  
"Lucius, his father has friends working in the Ministry, he asked his father about the name and claims that there is no such person called Holly Raven," he found his hands really interesting, and Hermione noted that he was shy when it came to confrontations.  
  
"Well, my name isn't **just** Holly Raven," Hermione said sighing as if it was obvious. Severus looked up at her surprised and she smiled at him. "I have a middle name..." she turned her gaze onto the lake; it was quiet with no disturbance in the water.  
  
"Planning on telling me about it?" He asked smiling and followed her gaze looking at the lake.  
  
"Nope, maybe before I'm off," Hermione shook her head and her hair followed the lead.  
  
"Planning on leaving me?" His voice was amazingly confident when she knew how normally blushed or reacted towards feelings and sweet things.  
  
"Graduation," she answered blushing. She looked at him and he on her.  
  
"Graduation, can't wait to get out of here," he leaned back on the ground and looked up into the clouded sky.  
  
"Why is that, Severus?" She turned her head and looked down at him, he smiled at her.  
  
"Don't you? Just get away from all these people," his voice was uplifting and Hermione couldn't help smiling.  
  
"No, I don't want to leave, Hogwarts has always been my home..." Hermione said the words before she could stop herself. Severus sat up strait and looked at her oddly. "I mean, since I've gotten here, she mumbled and he laid down again. She sighed mutely and looked out on the lake.  
  
"I can't wait to leave, I hate people here," Hermione wrinkled her nose at him, "except from you, that is," he added seeing her expression. Her face lit up in a bright smile and she lay down next to him.  
  
The both stared deadly into the sky relaxing from the solid ground they lay on.  
  
"Are you going home the Christmas vacation?" Hermione asked when the silence became too much for her to bear.  
  
"I don't know... hopefully not," his voice was bitter and suddenly cold.  
  
"You hate your family?" She asked when she noticed the bitterness in his answer.  
  
"Let's just say I am not best friends with my family, they see things in other ways..."  
  
"You say toma**rto**, I say toma**to**..." Hermione added and saw him nodding out the corner of her eye.  
  
"You going home to see yours?" She felt him turn his head towards her but she kept her gaze up the sky.  
  
"I don't have a family," was that frost in her voice?  
  
"Why? Do you live in one of those... wassicalled, orphanages?" He was still looking at her; she sank a lump that had blocked her throat.  
  
"No," her voice was vague and she felt strange. She could might as well leave Hogwarts for the holiday and go the school they attended. She felt a jolt in her stomach when thinking of seeing her parents. The world became blurry and her eyes filled with tears, she brushed them away and took a deep breath.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"They were murdered... a year ago," she spoke quietly without taking her eyes away from the sky.  
  
"Why? By who?" Severus asked shocked and sat up fast. He looked down at Hermione. "I mean, if you don't want to talk about it..." Hermione shook her head.  
  
"One day you'll know, there will be no doubt about who it was..." her words hung deadly in the air and then she realised that he was looking strangely at her. "Oh my god! Don't worry Severus, it's not me..." She let out a small laugh. "Gosh, looking in the mirror I see that it make sense. Rumours about my true identity, dead family..." she shook her head and shuddered lightly before smiling. "I might be a mystery, but I have never even hurt a fly..." he cocked an eyebrow at her and gave her a small smile. She turned around to lie on her side and looked at him.  
  
"I have read that book, _The Golden Valley_, I really enjoyed it. It is excellent; I was trying to uncover the mystery myself as I read it. I really like the main character and his personality. I see why you like it," she smiled greatly, "I have a book that might interest you..." She remembered that she was in the past and all her books was in the present. She damned the situation; she had nothing.  
  
"Severus," Hermione said with a vulnerable voice, he looked at her, "I have something to tell you..." Hermione sat up and placed herself right in front of him. She took a deep breath fearing for his reaction. Should she tell him? Should she reveal it? What would he do? Abandon her? She felt like throwing up and she probably would've if he hadn't placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.  
  
"Holly, you're my best friend, you can tell me anything..." his words touched her and tears filled her eyes. She really liked him...  
  
"I know, and you're my best friend too, I am just afraid what you might do..." she paused before going on, "it's really bad, not for me, but for you. You're a Slytherin, then you're supposed to hate me..." He moved and bit to held her closely. She moved away and looked into his eyes. Her own eyes were watered and the tears were running down her cheek. "I am... _muggleborn_..." she finished the sentence and broke down in tears.  
  
"That's it?" Severus asked and Hermione raised her head. She nodded. "You think I would what? Abandon you just because of that?" Once again she nodded and sobbed.  
  
"If I ever would leave you, then we would never have spoken, you're in Gryffindor..." A slight smile settled on his lips and Hermione just starred at him open mouthed. She blushed and without thinking she jumped towards him in a great hug.  
  
"Severus! I've just been so scared telling it to you!" She gasped and fell down on the grass with him.  
  
"Hol... Holly ... I can't... breathe..." he gasped and she let him go giggling furiously. Her mind eased and relaxed.  
  
"Sorry," she got up from the ground, "time for dinner..." she held out a hand to pull him up.  
  
**ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
**  
"So what's the thing about you and good old Snivi... Severus..." James asked as 'the gang' followed from the Great Hall to the common room after dinner.  
  
"We're just friends," Hermione told, maybe friends with a bit more love than usual. She smiled to herself.  
  
"Rumours are that you two date," Lily tittered and looked at the blushing Hermione.  
  
"Yes, there are certainly a lot of rumours about me," She shook her head smiling. "We don't date, we're still just friends," she made sure to held a bit bitterness in the words so her friends could pick up the sign.  
  
"Haven't gotten to second base yet," Sirius said letting his hand slide around her waist.  
  
"I'm not even sure we've arrived to first base yet," she snorted and blushed.  
  
"Well, do not fear my love, you are beautiful and he just have to pull himself together. Then he'll ask you out and you'll be at first base almost heading for second," Sirius had changed attitude towards Hermione, which she was thankful for. They were now good friends and Hermione was glad for that. Not that they hadn't been good friends already, but when it came to talking about Severus he was nicer. Hermione saw Sirius as her second best friend, Sirius had a bad relationship with his family, and Hermione and Sirius had become like brother and sister since they were both alone.  
  
"Can we talk about something else? If it is possible, then I'll probably soon loose consciousness because of too much blood in my head," her head was red as a tomato and they laughed.  
  
"But talking about bases, then what base are you on, Lily and James?" Hermione asked interested and now Lily and James were the ones to blush.  
  
"Holly, I don't think there is a base for where they stand..." Remus said and once again Hogwarts was filled with laughter while both James and Lily were quiet and blushing.  
  
"I think this is the first time that you've been speechless, Prongs," Remus said and James glared at him evilly, which only made them all haul even harder.  
  
The same night, Hermione worked on her potions essay, transfigurations essay, and DADA essay.  
  
Then she had to read three chapters in magical creatures and two chapters in charms. At around 1 in the morning, Hermione was finally done and could go to her dorm and sleep. She was just about to climb the stair when she changed her route and exited the room. She, quietly as possible, headed for the entrance hall and slipped outside. With a warming spell cast, Hermione tracked the Hogwarts garden. The flowers, which should have died by the frost, were under a spell, so they never died. With the warming spell and the garden looking like as if it was mid-June, Hermione couldn't help but smile. She took a seat at a bench in the garden; it was quite cold to sit on.  
  
"Miss Raven, I didn't expect to bump into you this late," a voice said and Hermione got up surprisingly fast. "Please sit down again," Hermione sat down carefully again and Dumbledore sat next to her. There was a pause as they both looked out over the garden. "How are you?" He asked without removing his gaze from the sleeping garden.  
  
"Guess I'm fine. Better than I thought... I get depressed sometimes; it's odd... Found a picture of me and my best friends..." Hermione mumbled out randomly. She saw him smile. "It's with Harry and Ron," she told after a while. She had already told Dumbledore about Harry and Ron, just not what they had done in their lives.  
  
"Miss Evans and Mr. Potters future child?" He asked, she nodded and showed him the picture of the waving teenagers. "Wow," he said surprised, Hermione grinned quietly at his reaction, "they look exactly like each other," Hermione nodded and cast a glance at the picture. "Except the eyes."  
  
"I heard voices not so long ago, from the future, I felt somehow connected..." Dumbledore looked at her, "it's just odd, that's all. I really miss my friends, but at the same time I don't want to leave... I am sad to admit it, but in some strange reason I hope you don't find a way to get me home, even though it is probably the best thing..."  
  
"Yes, tough choices. But when you do get back, you still have the memories you've shared with each person here..." Dumbledore told her. His light blue shimmering cloak had caught some of the light from the castle and played with it around the cloak.  
  
"I know, that's the weird and very confusing part..." Hermione let out a small sigh.  
  
"You seem quite... _attached _to young Mr. Snape," Dumbledore couldn't help but smile at the blushing Hermione.  
  
"That's for sure going to be odd when I get back!" They both laughed. "It's been nice talking with you sir, as always," Hermione got up and made a small respectful bow with her head before leaving.  
  
Even though Hermione didn't feel tired at all, she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.  
  
"Holly, hurry up, we don't have all day!" Miranda yelled and a second after Hermione stumbled out of the bathroom. The two girls hurried down into the common room to meet their friends and then to the Great Hall.  
  
"Wow, first Hogsmaede weekend, can't wait!" James said sarcastic and they all laughed. Sure they had been in Hogsmaede around at least ten times by now; of course that was a secret.  
  
"Yeah, I can't wait to see what Zonko's offering!" Sirius said just as enthusiastic.  
  
"I just want some butter beer," Hermione added to the conversation.  
  
"Yeah! And Bertie Botts too!" Miranda said excited while they headed for the Great Hall.  
  
"Do you ever attend that horrible café? In the alley, the pink one... Madam Puddifoot's?" Hermione suddenly asked James and Lily. Lily nodded and James looked rather annoyed.  
  
"Madam Puddifoot's?" Sirius asked laughing, "You've never told you went in there, is it nice?" Sirius asked mischievously but was sent a dead stare from James.  
  
"It is a little... pink and fluffy and all, but it's quite cosy when you just want to be alone and drink coffee or tea..." Lily told Hermione who nodded understandingly.  
  
"Well I guess the Three Broomsticks is a bit shabby for romance," Hermione took her usual seat at the Gryffindor table along with her friends.  
  
"Before we eat, I have some informations to inform you about," the Great Hall became silent as Dumbledore spoke with his clear voice. "First of all, if you're staying at the school in the Christmas period, be sure to sign up. The list is put up in each house on the message board," he paused for a second, "Then I would like to inform that there will be a Yule ball, but only for those in fifth, sixth and seventh year," a loud mumbling as heard in dismay, mostly from those under fifth year.  
  
"Can you believe it?!" Lily almost screamed in Hermiones ear while jumping up and down in her seat.  
  
"That is so cool!" Hermione said participating in the excitement. Hermione and Lily along with Miranda sat during the meal discussing what to wear.  
  
"I have to write to my parents and tell them that I won't be home for Christmas," Lily said with a great smile on her lips, "you should too," she looked at James who nodded dull.  
  
"You're not going home for Christmas, are you? Lily asked and looked at her sternly but with a hint of a smile tugging in the corners of her mouth.  
  
"Well," Hermione started out a bit gauche, "I don't really..." every words was stretched in an unusual way, "have a home..." she finished and her friends looked at her... "Um..." she might as well let them know, "My parents died a year ago... so... I have nothing to go back to..." she pursed her lips, she always felt odd talking about this subject, everyone became quiet, and then they would tell her how sorry they was for her. "But it's okay, I'll survive, new topic," she said getting away from the quiet talk with a smile, "I don't have any festive dress, but I guess I can spell my uniform into a dress or something like it..." Hermione said noticing her friends hadn't caught up with her wish. "You guys, pull yourselves together, I'm okay, really. Everything is okay, unless you don't start smiling and planning for this ball," Her voice became strict and finally her friends smiled.  
  
"Spell your uniform? You can do that?" Miranda finally spoke easing the mood.  
  
"Yeah... But it's quite complicated, especially if you want details in it like a special sleeve or something..." Hermione sipped some tea.  
  
After breakfast Hermione and her friends got properly dressed for a day outside.  
  
"Miss Raven, can you skip the trip to Hogsmaede, I'd like to talk with you?" Dumbledore asked, as Hermione and her friends were about to leave the castle.  
  
"Um, sure..." Hermione gave her friends a quick smile and then left with Dumbledore. Hermione followed along with Dumbledore to his office where she took a seat.  
  
"Tea, cookies, lemon drop?" Dumbledore swung his wand and it all appeared on the table. Hermione sighed smiling; he was weird in the very best manner.  
  
"Unfortunately I have not yet found a way to get you back to your time, but I might have found a way to help you live through the life here..." Dumbledore showed her a piece of paper and Hermione looked it though.  
  
"Wow... a potion, just very, very difficult..." She scanned the paper and looked into the deep blue sea.  
  
"This potion will make it possible for you to go back and collect your needs. You will appear in Diagon Alley. This potion only lasts an hour," his voice was hinting something more, but Hermione didn't care. She got to go home, even if it is for a lousy hour! "When in Diagon Alley, you summon your key to your vault with this spell," he handed her another paper, which she carefully scanned, "and then hurry off. I am unfortunate to say that your appearance as a person will be a bit..." he paused, "I am uncertain how it will be exactly, the only thing I will say to you is be careful and do not let your feelings lead you." Hermione nodded not sure what he meant exactly, but she figured that she would find out. Then they both went to the potion room to create the potion.  
  
The potion looked difficult, but was quite easy to make. When brewed Hermione looked at Dumbledore and thanked him.  
  
"I guess I'll see you soon," she said and drank the potion. She had never in her life tasted anything that bad, not even the Poly juice elixir in her second year tasted that bad. She felt a strange spasm running through her entire body and closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes she stood in Diagon Alley. She looked around open mouthed. It was incredible!  
  
Hermione got out the summoning spell and did it, the key to her vault appeared in her hand and she hurried off to Gringotts. It was when she noticed the odd thing, which had happened. The glass doors leading inside of Gringotts was reflecting the street behind her, which it shouldn't because she was in front it.  
  
"I don't have a reflection?" Hermione gasped and looked at the glass strangely before looking down her body. Her body was normal; she looked like she did, just without reflection.  
  
'This must be the abnormal thing about it, it's only my soul which has travelled off, my body is still in the past..." Hermione opened the doors and went inside. The goblins and costumers inside all cast surprised glance at her and she figured out why.  
  
There are two sides of a person, the outer, and the inner. She was only the inner so in same way she was missing a part of herself, which would be the visible part. Even though people could see her, they still sensed that there was something wrong with her. Hermione hurried up to a goblin and told about her purpose. Then she was taking to her vault. Her parents had left her a great deal of money since they were both dentists and with own clinic. When they died everything went to her and Hermione had sold the clinic and exchanged the money into wizards money and put them in a vault.  
  
She got out a small purse that Dumbledore had borrowed her. She was told it was spelled and able to contain amounts of things. The vault was almost filled with money and Hermione took it all. It took her a great deal of time to empty the vault and once it was emptied she closed the vault and left.  
  
She stood with the little purse and waited for her to be taken back and pretending not to notice the strange glances she was getting from people. 


	3. 3

**Third Chap. – getting comfortable**

_May I remind you that I have other GREAT stories too? Please review this one and you're more than welcome to take a look at my other stories... **Sky of Hamster **needs to be read... Thanks..._

Hermione opened her eyes and discovered herself in the potion room along with Dumbledore who smiled at her.  
  
"Well, I emptied my entire vault," Hermione looked at him smiling. "Should I put them in Gringotts?" He shook his head lightly.  
  
"I think it is best that you have them near you. You can have the purse," he had his usual sparkle in his eye and Hermione thanked him for his help and the purse.  
  
"Sir, do you think it is possible for me to go to Diagon Alley? I'd like to buy some clothes and maybe school supplies..." Hermione asked politely.  
  
"Of course, you can you use my fireplace to get to the Leaky Cauldron."  
  
The Leaky Cauldron didn't look that different when Hermione stepped out of the fireplace, although when she stepped out in Diagon Alley she noticed how old things were. In the sports shop the broomsticks sucked... She went over to Madam Malkin where she bought tons of new cloths and a beautiful dress to the Yule ball.  
  
In Flourish and Blotts Hermione got paper and quills and ink. She also got a notebook for each class and an extra one just in case of something interested happened. Then she bought some schoolbooks, she had shared books with her friends, and a schoolbag and went off to get chemist's shop and got a bunch of ingredients and two cauldrons that matched what the list said. She had been given a list from Dumbledore just before leaving, so that she knew what to get.  
  
"Well, I need to get presents for everyone," Hermione told herself and walked around between stores. James would be easy to please, Quidditch. She went into the store and looked around. She had already found the perfect gift. The same gift she gave Harry in their first year, equipment to upkeep his broom.  
  
To Sirius she got a book where he could write down ideas for pranks and a notebook (he had a tendency forgetting to do his homework)  
  
Peter was a bit difficult, but she got him a new schoolbag (his own was completely destroyed).  
  
Lily was more difficult than anyone she had ever met, she didn't have any hobby at Hogwarts, and she seemed to have everything in order. She finally found a handbag that would match all sets of clothes. It would change colour into what would look good.  
  
Miranda, who was into make-up, got a complete set of make-up: eyeliner, mascara etc. Hermione was just about to head off back, when she remembered Severus. She knew exactly what to get him. First she went into the muggle world and got a book about art from music to wallpaper. She also got the newest edition of Quality Potions. It was a book with stronger potions and meanings and a hell lot of things. She also remembered to get Dumbledore something. She hurried over to a very small shop in Diagon Alley. There she got black liquorice with a taste of lemon. She also got some tea that reminded a bit of Bertie Botts, Every Flavour Beans. Except that all of this had only a good taste.  
  
Then she went to an old store in London, which she knew her parents had loved. It was a wine shop where she bought a good wine.  
  
Hermione slowly made her way back to the Leaky Cauldron after a superb lunch in one of the small cafés. She had at least ten bags filled with strange things.  
  
"Albus Dumbledores office, Hogwarts!" Hermione said out loud as she stood in the fireplace. Hermione almost flew out of the fireplace in his office, she smiled and got up, her bag was scattered around the floor.  
  
"Phew, that was nice..." She said and got up from the floor.  
  
"Trust you had a nice day, miss Granger?" Dumbledore smiled happily when she nodded.  
  
"Yeah, thank you for your help, I'll see you later, professor. Thanks again."  
  
"Miss Granger, it was my pleasure to help," Hermione smiled and left.  
  
It was finally nice to have some decent cloths to wear and it was nice to have her own cauldron and her own quills and things.  
  
Hermione spend her day first "unpacking" and then wrapping the gifts she had gotten for people in green and red paper before putting on nametags. To each person she wrote something personal, well almost. Dumbledore got the longest letter. After that she hid the gifts under her bed until Christmas.  
  
After making sure her homework had been done to perfection, Hermione took a seat at her 'usual table' in the library. The last sunshines were shining through the window. Hermione glanced at her watch; it was five in the afternoon.  
  
Her friends wouldn't be back from Hogwarts before dinner. For the first time in her life, Hermione was restless and not even the library could make it up. Her concentration, while reading in a book, didn't last long and she ended up walking Hogwarts from A to Z.  
  
Stalking around Hogwarts was kind of calming. Hermione visited the upper regions as the lower.  
  
"Okay, where am I?" Hermione looked around for something familiar. She was in a corridor where the door she had come from, had disappeared when she had closed it. She looked around; there were doors on each side, all the way down. She picked out a door and went through. To her astonishment she found herself in the girls bathroom on the second floor. Moaning Myrtle.  
  
Hermione walked over to the sink where Harry and Ron had told was the opening to the Chamber of Secrets. And right they were, a small snake was formed into the cobber on the side of the tab. Hermione took a steep back breathing hard. She didn't like being there any longer. The thought about the Salazar Slytherins monster being down there was, indeed, frightening her.  
  
"Who are you?" A strange high-pitched voice asked; Hermione looked up.  
  
"Myr... My name is Holly... Yours?" Hermione asked smiling sweetly to the young ghost hovering above the ground, while looking down at her.  
  
"Myrtle..." she said quickly and flew in circles around her. "What do you want?" Her voice was as she remembered it, babyish and quite annoying in the long run.  
  
"Well I just crossed the bathroom and thought I'd say hi," said Hermione convincingly. She might as well be sweet towards her while being here, thought Hermione silently.  
  
"Did you?" Her voice seemed as if it would break any minute into tears.  
  
"Yes, and I just want to inform you, do not listen to Peeves, he's not half as sweet as you are..." Hermiones words hung silently in the air and Myrtle was looking strangely at Hermione.  
  
"Peeves? Is he telling bad tales about me?" She started to sob and before Hermione knew of it, she screamed and flew around the room. Hermione ducked so that Myrtle wouldn't flow through her.  
  
"H-how did you die?" Hermione yelled trying to keep an eye on Myrtle, which was quite difficult since her movements were pretty fast. But nonetheless she stopped abruptly when Hermione asked.  
  
"Why?" Her voice was low but had a hint of happiness. Hermione remembered Ron telling about her reaction when they had asked, she seemed happy to be asked such a question.  
  
"Well... I was just wondering... You don't look that old..." Hermione wondered why she asked. She would love to know about the Chamber of Secrets, but she should find out about it, in her own time. What if she changed history when asking about it? Hermione gasped. "Don't answer!" Hermione almost screamed and ran out of the bathroom. To her discovering she noticed, that running out the bathroom using the same door she came in, didn't lead her to the corridor with the many doors, but to the usual hallway, which she knew lead her to the bathroom.  
  
After leaving the bathroom, Hermione noticed how cruel she had been. Myrtle was already hysterically ominous, and she worsened it by asking her a question, and not even wanting to hear the answer. When she got back to her own time, she would apologise.  
  
Hermione was surprised to find her friends in the common room, but when looking at her watch, she noticed it was just above dinnertime.  
  
"What did Dumbledore want to ask you about?" Asked Lily as Hermione took a seat with them.  
  
"Nothing really, just petite things..." Hermione leaned back rubbed her face with both hands. "I had had some problems with some things that I needed sorted out," she paused and got up form the chair, "you wanna hit the Great Hall for dinner?" Her friends nodded in unison and got up, "wait, before I forget it," Hermione hurried over to the common room message board and wrote her name on the list of people staying through Christmas.  
  
Hermione caught a glimpse of Severus and smiled to him when they made eye contact. He smiled back before returned to his "friends".  
  
"Aw..." cried Sirius, "has he asked you yet? If he hasn't, I'm gladly to give him a little... push..." he smiled innocently, but Hermione wasn't fooled.  
  
"Don't," she said giggling quietly, "We haven't had the change to talk about the festivity yet," Hermione glanced over at the Slytherin table one last time, before returning to her dinner.  
  
"So this means that you'd say no if I'd ask you to go with me?" Remus asked politely and Hermione couldn't help but blushing.  
  
"I am afraid so... But that doesn't mean that we can't do a quick boogie!" She stated staring at him sharply and with a hint of amusement, tugged in the corner of her mouth.  
  
"I'll hold you to that promise," Hermione nodded smilingly to Remus.  
  
Sunday morning was quite relaxed. Hermione was the first one to get up and first one to enter the Great Hall for breakfast.  
  
"Miss Raven," A voice called from the head table. Hermione walked up to meet her DADA professor.  
  
"Good morning, professors," Hermione nodded to the small amount of professors, who was already sitting there when she had entered.  
  
"You too," she heard them said almost in unison. Hermione turned to her potions professor.  
  
"I just wanted to tell, that the essay you wrote to me... I have never seen anything like it. It is very long and you have every detail about it. I am very impressed and therefore wish to award you 15 points for such brilliance and cleverness," the professor looked into Hermiones eyes before  
  
Hermione turned her gaze down into the floor. She was blushing.  
  
"Thank you professor, I've always tried to do my best. I am glad that you liked it," Hermione bowed her head slightly to all the teachers before leaving. McGonagall had told her in her own 'time', that she was clever, but she had never been handed it like that. She felt so happy!  
  
After breakfast Hermione went t the library. Please let him come, please... A small voice inside her head wished as she took a seat at her favourite table. She hadn't spoken to Severus for a while and she really missed him. _WHAT?_ Hermione gasped almost falling of her chair. Okay, she could admit she had a very tiny, little, petite crush on Severus, but missing him was a big thing... Wow... maybe the crush wasn't that tiny after all.  
  
Hermione was jerked out of her own world when a familiar voice spoke and took a seat in front of her. She looked at him strangely before her brain got started.  
  
"Hello..."  
  
"Severus, I was almost afraid you wouldn't come..." Hermione said smiling and threw her hair back in an elegant grace.  
  
"My daily library visit and chance to see you. How could I not?" He smiled wickedly to her, and she noted how he had gotten more confidence, than the first time she met him. Oh well, he was still shy in front of others, but when only those two, he was open and sweet and not that shy.  
  
"Good day yesterday?" Hermione asked politely as to start the conversation, he nodded and looked at her books.  
  
"Yeah, why didn't you go?" He opened one of her books and studied the content closely.  
  
"I had other things to attend to. I've bought you the coolest Christmas present!" Snape looked startled at her before he blushed. "I hope you don't mind me buying you a present..." she hurriedly said and bit her lower lip carefully.  
  
"Well, I guess not, I've bought you a present too..." Dark smiling pools met happy dark brown chocolate pools. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before both smiling.  
  
"So... are you going to the Yule ball?" He asked casual while avoiding her gaze, Hermione felt her cheeks reddening.  
  
"I guess so," she told him slowly looking into her book while pretending to read.  
  
"You're going with _Lupin_?" He was still asking with a casual voice and he too was looking in a book reading.  
  
"Nope..."  
  
"_Sirius_?"  
  
"Nope..."  
  
"Then who?"  
  
"Well... I haven't been asked by anyone..." her cheeks was felt so hot.  
  
"So... if I asked you to go with me, would you say yes?" Hermione looked over the edge of the books she was hiding behind. He was hiding completely behind a book too. She put down her book on the table and looked into his eyes, well, into the book he was hiding behind.  
  
"I'd like that..." she smiled and looked down the table, he put down the book looking rather surprised at her.  
  
"You mean that?" Asked Severus, as if she had just said it to tease him.  
  
"Yes," they both broke into a huge smile and blushed.  
  
_'HE ASKED ME, HE ASKED ME, HE ASKED ME!'_ Hermione was screaming inside her head while heading back to the Gryffindor tower after a long chat with Severus. Her stomach was overflowing with butterflies.  
  
"Why do you look so happy?" Asked Miranda as Hermione entered the common room.  
  
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked stupidly.  
  
"Well, judging from the huge smile on your face, which usually means that you're happy, something must've happened..."  
  
"Well, maybe she found a new book," James grinned at her; she sent his a sarcastic smile.  
  
"Oh my god!" Lily got up screaming, Hermione and Lily jumped up and down the floor.  
  
"Is there something I'm missing? Why are they jumping up and down? I'll never understand girls. They can talk with each other mutely..." James shook his head and Sirius slipped back his head and laughed out loud.  
  
"Snape asked her to the Yule ball," Remus said and got surprisingly a lot of stares. "What? It is kinda obvious, isn't it?" He gave Hermione a great smile, "congratulations Holly," Hermione smiled even greater than before.  
  
"How the hell did you know?" Sirius asked furrowing his eyebrows.  
  
"Yeah, Mooney, I think being bitten by a werewolf gave you a sixth sense or something," James added with Sirius and Peter nodding in the background.  
  
"Unlike you two, Remus is very observing!" Lily spat coldly and hugged Hermione tightly again.  
  
"Write a book, 101 methods to get rid of a woman... I mean to get to know a woman," he corrected himself sardonically. Lily sent him a cold glare and sat down next to Hermione. "I love you..." he said with puppy eyes, Hermione couldn't help laughing. What a stupid way to excuse his behaviour.  
  
"Mr. Potter, women aren't that difficult to understand..." Lily was cut off by a snort from both James and Sirius.  
  
"What? You think you boys are easy to figure out?" Hermione asked laughing.  
  
"We certainly aren't a maze like you..." Sirius told and gave James five.  
  
"Women aren't really that difficult to understand, underneath the surface, they are exceptionally easy to figure out," Remus said ending the conversation with a smirk. Nobody quite knew whether the comment was good or bad.  
  
"Okay, so the bat asked you out, what do you see in him?" Sirius broke the silence and looked at Hermione. Hermiones rolled her eyes, sometimes he just couldn't help being cruel.  
  
"A lot of things. Our conversations are various almost every time. Sometimes we just read books and enjoy each others company." Hermione told and noticed Lily leaning into James's embrace. She wondered if she would have that experience too. 


	4. 4

**Fourth chap. – Christmas**  
  
Hermione had spent the two first days of the vacation on doing her homework to perfection. The students were fewer since most of them had gone home in the vacation. It was mainly those beneath sixth and seventh year who went home.  
  
"Holly, what you think of this dress?" Asked Miranda and held up a slight pink dress.  
  
"It's pretty..." Answered Hermione and looked at Lily who nodded.  
  
"Yeah, I am so looking forward to this ball. Just take the breath away from them all!" Lily gave them a great smile.  
  
"Yeah, I'm thinking on flattening my hair...that would surely be different," Hermione looked into the mirror and pressed down her vivacious curls.  
  
"Maybe I should get curls?" Lily looked at her red hair; it wasn't flat or curly. It was like Hermiones hair had been once, just not that tangled. It was boring.  
  
"What about we all got flat hair?" Miranda asked, she had strong curly hair, the curls were little but many.  
  
"Yeah! That would be so pretty!" Lily exclaimed energized and Hermione nodded.  
  
"I have a spell for that..." Hermione closed her eyes trying to remember the spell she had once used.  
  
There was four hours until the ball started and the three girls had already started. They had all been in shower and had gotten manicure.  
  
Hermione went over to Lily and tied her hair up in a lot of small bunches.  
  
"Okay, you have to take a small hair-lock at the time, that is if you want it to be perfect," Hermione got the first hair-lock and used her want until it was completely flat. And, then the next hair-lock and so on.  
  
"Wow!" Lily grinned as she looked into the mirror. Her red hair was a bit longer and completely smooth.  
  
"Lily you're beautiful!" Miranda told as Hermione did the same to her. It took much longer time with Mirandas hair since it was so big and very curly. But nonetheless, an hour had gone by and Hermione could show the Miranda her new hair. Both Lily and Miranda were screaming furiously while jumping around Hermione.  
  
"Okay, my own curls..." Hermione sat in front of the mirror, her curls were not real; her real hair was bushy, not curly. But nonetheless she had strait hair and then there was almost one hour until the ball.  
  
"Okay, dress..." Hermione hurried over to her suitcase and looked it through for the dress she had bought in Diagon Alley.  
  
"Wow... When did you buy that?" Lily asked as Hermione brought forth a very beautiful dark red dress. Hermione avoided the question and stood in front of the mirror eyeing her.  
  
"Mother sent me this one," Lily got out a dress in light blue, "It's a muggle dress, but I really love it!" Hermione looked at Lilys dress, it was gorgeous. Its sleeves were tight. It was tight across her chest, but just underneath the breasts it loosened up and went all the way down to the floor.  
  
Miranda had a dress in pink, which she turned into blue almost right away. It was sleeveless showing her bare skin. She had a scarf along with it in the same colour. She too had gotten it sent from her parents; it was a modern witch's dress. It was tight a showing her curves beautifully.  
  
Hermiones dress was deep red and with long sleeves which hung dull from her arms. It was tight all the right places showing off her figure though from her hips and down it loosened.  
  
"I think we should do something about our hair..." Hermione said as she turned around and around in front of the mirror watching herself from every angle.  
  
"Yeah, it's a bit dull, I wish to look smashing, having flat hair is a bit boring..." Lily corrected her dress in the edge and Miranda was trying different hairstyles.  
  
Just before they left, they managed to find some beautiful hairstyles. Hermione had gotten light curls in the end of her hair and had then put it up in a very pretty stylish design. Miranda, who wished to keep the strait hair, had gotten a ponytail leaving her long fringes back alone.  
  
Lily had gotten help from both Miranda and Hermione and had gotten a bandeau in a relaxed style. She was very pretty and Hermione caught herself envy Lilys red hair. Lily and Miranda had helped Hermione with the make-up, a thing Hermione didn't master at all. She had never been into her looks, the only thing she did now was curl her hair, nothing else.  
  
"Ready?" Hermione asked and took a deep breath.  
  
"No... we have to wait at least five minutes..." Lily informed with a nodding Miranda in the background.  
  
"Why? We'll be late," her stomach jolted nervously as she cast a glance at herself in the mirror.  
  
"Exactly, we're worth waiting for..." Miranda told with a smug.  
  
"Beside, we have to make the perfect entrance," Hermione smiled at Lily and Miranda. They both knew how to make a perfect entrance. Lily was going with James to the ball and Miranda with Remus. Sirius was going with someone from Ravenclaw and, to everyone's surprise, even Wormtail had gotten a date.  
  
The three girls looked into the mirror one final time before sweeping gracefully out of the room. Miranda made sure that the boys were already off to meet them in front of the Great Hall, before they went into the common room.  
  
"I still don't understand why we couldn't meet them here," Hermione mumbled as they, with much difficulty, descended the staircase down to the common room.  
  
"Holly, think about it. They stand outside the Great Hall with Severus; they look up the staircase and then they'll notice us... It'll be so perfect!" Hermione could almost feel the excitement in Lily and she giggled.  
  
"Okay, ready?" The three girls looked at each other before turning around the last corner leading to the grand staircase.  
  
The looks the boys sent them, as they so very gracefully descended the staircase, was precious. Hermione noticed that Severus was standing close to the others. Had they become friends?  
  
The boys were dressed in same type of robe, just different colours. Lupin had dark blue and James the colours of the golden snitch, golden with some white here and there. Peter was gone along with Sirius; Hermione suspected they'd be in the Great Hall along with their dates. Severus had black robes as usual but a different type of robe. Hermione though he looked older than he was, he was really good-looking. She giggled lightly as she caught his eyes, they were big and it seemed that his mouth would drop open any minute.  
  
"Wow..." he said quietly as she reached him. She looked down the floor blushing, "you're a very beautiful miss," he kissed her hand gently and Hermione was surprised to find such a gentleman in him.  
  
"Thank you, you too," she said quietly, he reached out for her hand.  
  
"Shall we?" They looked into each other's eyes and she let their hands meet.  
  
The tables were set up in a great U leaving the dance floor to be in the middle of the room. Hermione wished her friends good luck before she took a seat with Severus near the end. Some people looked at the two as they walked into the hall, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Not any Gryffindor, the mysterious bookworm with a Slytherin and an, supposed to be, evil mastermind. Hermione sent him an adorable look before he pulled out a chair for her. She sat down carefully and he took a seat in took a seat next to her.  
  
Hermione noticed that Sirius was sitting with his date not far away from her; she caught his eyes and gave him a bright smile.  
  
"Welcome," Dumbledore said out loud and all chattering ceased. He was wearing a great dark blue robe with small, what looked like it, stars. "I'd like to bid you all welcome and hope that you'll have a pleasant evening, let the dinner begin," Dumbledore clapped his hands and the most delicious dinner appeared in front of them.  
  
For the first time in Hermiones and Severus's friendship, they were speechless unable to form a long conversation.  
  
"So... Looking forward to find out what the evening beholds..." Hermione looked down her plate, which she had filled neatly with different sorts of food.  
  
"Yeah... Dumbledore has a thing for surprises and strange things..." Severus added carefully.  
  
The conversation started out very careful and nervous, but soon after Hermione and Severus talked like they used to. Hermione was even able to speak with Sirius and his date a couple of times and Hermione swore she heard Sirius and Severus exchange words a couple of times too!  
  
"May I have this dance?" Severus had gotten up after dinner and bowed lightly toward her. Hermione nodded slightly pink in her face and accepted his hand. There were already a great deal out on the dance floor dancing to a quite symphony.  
  
They strode beautifully out on the dance floor and began to dance. Sometimes Hermione did a pirouette in a gorgeous manner with Severus leading her. His left hand was placed around her waist while his other hand held hers gently. Her other hand was placed just beneath his shoulder near his chest.  
  
After the first dance a young lady with black hair strode neatly over to them, asking Severus for a dance. At first he looked horrified, but then Hermione smiled and told him to try it out. He glanced back at her for a second of nervousness before, as the gentleman he was, leading the young girl out on the dance floor.  
  
"Cute..." A voice said and Hermione saw Lily and Miranda approaching.  
  
"Them?" Hermione asked a bit disbelievingly.  
  
"No, you two..." Lily giggled silly.  
  
"Oh, sorry," Hermione returned her gaze upon the dancing couple.  
  
"Anything happened between you two?" Hermione followed them over to a table near by. When the dinner had ended Dumbledore had turned the usual tables into a hell of a lot smaller tables where people could sit in pairs or smaller groups.  
  
"I'm scared..." Hermione told and took a seat; she was still watching Severus from the corner of her eye.  
  
"Scared of what?"  
  
"Everything... He seems more confident since the first time I met him..."  
  
"You don't think that means he'll leave you?" Lily took a seat next to her and Hermione dragged her eyes away from Severus.  
  
"I don't know..." Hermione suddenly felt like bursting into tears. All of her troubles pain was coming to the surface, why now? Not now! Not here! Don't want to mess up the ball by silly imaginations! Hermione thought and pulled herself together with a long drag of air.  
  
"Holly, relax. You're gorgeous, look, he's sending glances towards you all the time..." Lily put an arm around Hermione comforting.  
  
"What if he doesn't like me? What if we kiss and he regrets it?" Hermione babbled nervously and played with her hands restlessly.  
  
"Holly Raven! I do not wish to hear such nonsense!" Said Lily in a serious tone and forced their gazes to meet. "You do not know what the future holds, relax..." Hermione snorted and smiled, well in this case Lily was right.  
  
"I guess you're right, one step at the time..." Hermione hugged Lily tight along with Miranda.  
  
"What should I do without you guys?" She muttered and got up and shuddered as if to shudder off all sorrow she had just felt.  
  
"That's more like it..." Lily got up too, "If you wish to know a secret, I had the same fears just like you with James. We started dating only days before you arrived, I had my doubt in him, but as you see, it turned out well..." Hermione smiled.  
  
"Madam..." James arrived with some punch for her along with Remus with punch for Miranda.  
  
"Miss Raven, I do believe you owe me a dance, that is if my lovely date do not mind?" Miranda shook her hair and smiled.  
  
"Have fun bonnie lass," Hermione heard Miranda giggle along with Lily before she was guided onto the dance floor. She cast a screwed glare at Miranda and Lily before Remus and herself started to dance.  
  
She caught Severus's eye and smiled sweetly to him, he gave a smile back before she was spun carefully around. The headmaster gave her a smile and a nod when she saw him; she waved quietly to him before being spun around one more time.  
  
The dance didn't last long, but long enough for Hermione to have fun along with Remus in their weird tango/waltz/wedding march before ending. The song had ended and Hermione felt rather dizzy and was laughing with Remus.  
  
"I'm dizzy..." She exclaimed exhausted as he followed her over to the others who was laughing at their dance. A new song was put on and Lily and James hurried out to dance. It was a much faster song and Hermione and Severus carefully watched.  
  
"My dress is badly chosen for such wild dances and I'm not very good at it either," she sighed smiling. They stood together next to the punch table and looked over the crowded dance floor with people dancing wild dances. Sirius was swinging his date around on the dance floor wildly.  
  
"Well, I am just not that into such wild dances," he scowled with a hint of amusement as they watched those dancing.  
  
"Who was that you danced with? I've seen her sitting at the Slytherin table, but I don't know her name," Hermione looked at the girl who rested next to another boy who she expected to be her date.  
  
"Elena Davidson," he said shortly stepped closer to her. Hermione tugged into his arms while looking at the crowd. A silent song was put one once again, and Hermione and Severus swept onto the dance floor not breaking their intense eye contact. They only broke the eye contact when Hermione was spun carefully around otherwise their eyes never left one another.  
  
(Listened to the song, not sure if the text is correct)  
  
_We were together I was blown away,  
Just like the paper from a feather.  
But you wouldn't act like I was just a kid,  
Like we were never going to last.  
  
But know I got someone who cares for me, yeah  
He wrote my name and so it says,  
I think you know you've lost the love of your life,  
And you say: I was the best you ever had.  
  
Because I'm in demand,  
You're thinking on the way you've should've held my hand,  
And all the times you said you didn't understand,  
You've never had our love within your plan.  
  
But know I'm in demand.  
Never think you saw the best of me, ah, ah, ah, ah...  
There's a side you'll never know,  
Cause love and loving are two different things, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah...  
Set your sights far too low._

_But know I got someone who cares for me, yeah.  
He wrote my name and so it says,  
I think you know you've lost the love of your life,  
And you say: I was the best you ever had.  
  
Because I'm in demand,  
You're thinking on the way you should've held my hand,  
And all the times you say you didn't understand.  
You've never had our love within your plan.  
  
But know I'm in demand,  
You're thinking of the ways you should've held my hand.  
And all the times you say you didn't understand,  
You've never had our love within your plans.  
  
But now I'm in demand.  
It's only when I fall asleep,  
I see the goodness (?) smile,  
When my dreams, just move along,  
You've lost the race my miles, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...._

_Because I'm in demand,  
You're thinking of the ways you should've held my hand,  
And all the times you say you didn't understand,  
You never had our love within your plans,  
  
But know I'm in demand.  
You know I'm in demand, yeah...  
You see I'm in demand, yeah...  
You know I'm in demand, yeah...  
You know I'm in demand, yeah...  
You need me in demand,  
You want me in demand,_

As the song ended Hermione caught herself sharing the same air as Severus, they were so close. He was coming closer and his eye were closed... Her heart was pumping feverishly as she closed her eyes...


	5. 5

**Fifth chap! – So what happened next?**  
  
_AN: The song in chapter four was from the 'band' Texas, (might I add Alan –gorgeous- Rickman is in the video?) The song is dedicated for both Hermione and Severus, they should forget about past loves; they are together now (aww...)  
_  
**The story:  
**  
_As the song ended Hermione caught herself sharing the same air as Severus, they were so close. He was coming closer and his eye were closed...  
Her heart was pumping feverishly as she closed her eyes...  
_  
Their mouths met in a tender kiss and Hermione felt like they were the only two in the Great Hall. They broke apart quietly both with red cheeks. Severus moved his hand up to her jaw and carefully kissed her again. Hermione let her finger slide around in a small circle on his shoulder while their kiss lasted. She succumbed to him as he slipped his tongue between her lips.  
  
Both broke apart in a need of air. Hermione gently squeezed his hand, people were watching. The Slytherin and Gryffindor had kissed. Severus looked down the ground shyly before leading her away to a smaller table for just the two of them.  
  
"Mr. Snape, that I had never expected," Hermione lied to ease the tension, which lay upon them both. "But nonetheless enjoyable..." she added and met his gaze.  
  
"Holly..." Severus took a deep breath and Hermione tilted her head slightly, "I really like you..." Hermione got a sinking feeling in her stomach, "I had hoped that tonight would be the night that I asked you... if you'll go steady, be my girlfriend?" He finished his sentence without meeting her gaze.  
  
"I'd love to!" Hermione gasped and clutched his hands with an excited look on her face.  
  
"Really?" He asked in astonished and Hermione nodded furiously at him.  
  
"Mmm..." She mumbled and blushed, he caressed her hands carefully as they sat at the table.  
  
"I was so scared you'd say no..." Revealed Severus and moved some on his black hair away from his face a bit before sending her a great smile. Smiling suits him Hermione thought.  
  
"I would never say no, I really like you..." Hermione blushed before meeting his dark pools, which had gotten much more friendly to meet then before.  
  
The happy couple was too busy talking and enjoying each other that they didn't even notice, a great pair of blue eyes upon them. Dumbledore, who had taken a seat after a wild tango with professor McGonagall, was studying the happy couple carefully. Love is a precious thing, he thought.  
  
When Hermione that following morning entered the common room, she was asked about every little detail from her friends.  
  
"Well..." Hermione started out slightly pink in the face. "You saw what happened... nothing really happened after that... just talked and so... He asked if I would be his girlfriend, I said yes...nothing much..."  
  
"He asked you to WHAT?" Miranda gasped, "THAT IS WONDERFUL!" Hermiones gave her a small smile before looking down the floor.  
  
"Congratulations," Remus said and stretched. He was looking quite ill again, it was soon full moon.  
  
"Thank you very much," Hermione told and curled her legs up beneath her in the chair. "Where are James and Lily? Lilys room? Sirius is still asleep?" Remus and Peter nodded with a strange smirk on their faces. "Listen, I know you're not that fond of him, I really appreciate that you're nice to him and talks nice about him in my company, that really means a lot," Hermione studied her nails tired.  
  
"Holly, we don't hate him," Remus started out but was sent a raised eyebrow from Hermione.  
  
"Okay, I don't hate him. I don't think Padfoot or Prongs hates him either, it's just that he is always by himself and study, in potions he's..." he trailed off and gesticulated. Hermione nodded.  
  
"I guess it's normal to tease those weaker than others... But I really think that James and Sirius ruined his self-esteem, what little there was that is," She rubbed her arms lazily and yawned.  
  
"Maybe we should give him a chance..." Miranda proposed, Hermione looked up in horror, don't change the past she thought.  
  
"No!" She blurted out... "I mean... maybe... maybe not. I am just afraid that Sirius and James will say something stupid. Even if it is a joke, he's not that good handling jokes..." She lied and took a deep breath. She had no idea how he'd deal with Sirius and James, but she figured she'd spare him for the pain or/and embarrassment...  
  
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. It would be like them to tell some stupid joke and ruin everything..." Remus said thoughtful.  
  
"Let's just see where the future takes it..." Hermione suggested and relaxed into the chair.  
  
"Whatever," Miranda said and got up and stretched, "wanna get some lunch? I'm totally starving."  
  
"No worries," Remus said and flicked his wand muttering a small curse. A second after a house elf stood in front of them. Remus asked for some lunch and the elf disappeared. Hermione looked at him coldly, S.P.E.W. "What?" Remus asked when he noticed the dirty look she on her face.  
  
"You know, that's totally slavery. Having an unpaid house elf. Hogwarts is filled with them, poor elves..." she trailed off with a small sigh. The house elf appeared with the lunch on a tray, bowed and disappeared. Remus watched as Hermione bit her lip aggravated when the house elf appeared.  
  
"Have you ever wanted to do something, but been prevented to do it?" Remus finally asked after watching Hermione. She looked at him surprised after getting some lunch from the tray.  
  
"I guess so..." she answered not quite sure of what, but she figured that there had to be something.  
  
"This is the same thing. Tell a house elf that it should stop helping mankind and you might as well kill it... I think you're right, but I've noticed that how much effort, you'll never be able to convince them about a new life and freedom. They don't want it."  
  
Hermione thought about what Remus had told her. Maybe he was right, maybe that was their only wish and nothing that people could do or say would change it... Her train of thoughts was stopped when a snowball hit the window. Hermione looked shocked over at the window when it had happened.  
  
"Enchanted snowballs..." She muttered and got up, she looked out the window and saw a lot of people running around outside. "Hey, there's snow... I thought it was gone..." The snow had melted away during a heavy night of rain just before the Yule ball, now it was back.  
  
"Cool," Miranda said in a careless tone, she was reading a magazine.  
  
"When are you going... um... to transform?" Hermione asked in a low voice so that none would hear her.  
  
"I think just after Christmas, the day after tomorrow..." Silence ruled a couple of minutes. Hermione sat reading in a book she had borrowed from the restricted section with permission from Professor McGonagall, and Remus was doing his home work while Miranda had went for a walk.  
  
"I'll be back later, think I'll say hi to my boyfriend..." Hermione gave small smile before leaving. Hermione went to the library where she found their table empty. She sighed and headed for the Great Hall, he wasn't there either. 'He's probably in the Slytherin common room,' Hermione told herself and headed for the Room of Requirement.  
  
The door appeared and Hermione stepped inside, 'just the way I wanted it' she thought looking around the room. It was covered in pillows so that it didn't matter where you sat, you'd be comfortable anyway. Special books were in the corner along with parchment, quills and ink. She sat down in one a bunch of pillows a relaxed.  
  
"I have to find him..." Hermione muttered annoyed and got up. She really felt like seeing him, to be confirmed that the night before hadn't been a dream and that they belonged together.  
  
By instinct she headed towards the dungeons. She wandered the dungeons for a while not sure where exactly the Slytherins lived and is she knew, what could she do about it? And so she went up from the dungeons and headed towards the Gryffindor tower to write him a letter.  
  
Severus  
  
Meet me in the entrance hall,  
  
Holly.  
  
She borrowed Lily's owl to send the letter after which she went off to the entrance hall.  
  
Hermione looked at her muggle watch, she had waited five minutes. A strange feeling of being watched swept over her and she turned around. "Severus!" Hermione said startled.  
  
"Hello..." He kissed her gently and ended with a hug.  
  
"I just wanted to see you, slept through breakfast and ate lunch in the tower..." She smiled as he took her hand with his.  
  
"Wanted to see you too..." Hermione leaned into his chest in a hug. They stood hugging for some minutes.  
  
"Want to go for a walk?" He nodded with a small smile playing on his lips. They both used warming charms before walking outside.  
  
It was nice walking with Severus. They visited the garden where they stood in some minutes looking at the enchanted flowers.  
  
"Pity..." Severus told quietly as they took a seat on a bench in the garden. Hermione shot him a confused glare.  
  
"What is?"  
  
"I just think that winter can be really beautiful," Severus's eyes were fixed on the enchanted scenery, the flowers were smiling and dancing in the wind. Hermione leaned into his closely while watching the garden. Everything seemed so quiet. You could hear the distant screams and laughter from students playing snowball fights, she smiled and tugged even more into his embrace. before heading towards the lake. Several times Hermione and Severus had to duck because of enchanted snowballs.  
  
'Sometimes he really reminds of his older self,' Hermione said inside her head.  
  
"What are you thinking about?" Asked Hermione breaking the silence with a quite voice.  
  
"Everything... Just how lucky I am to meet you, nature and school, everything," he kissed her forehead.  
  
Small snowflakes was making way down from the sky while avoiding the happy couple with the warming spells.  
  
Hermione and Severus walked quietly towards the frosty lake holding each other's hands. The sun had settled long ago, though it was only four o'clock. Carefully avoiding enchanted snowballs that flew around, Hermione and Severus made it safely to the lake without being hit by any snowballs.  
  
"Where've you been today? I looked in the library and around the castle," Hermione leaned up against the three, which she, Harry and Ron usually sat at.  
  
"Practising spells, professor McGonagall is teaching us to transform a needle into a dog, nobody's made it yet... Except you, she brags about you all the time, miss Raven did this, miss Raven did that..." He mock-grinned with a high-pitched voice, Hermione let out a laugh.  
  
"Well, I know I'm good..." She said sardonically with a smile, "I can help you, it's really quite easy. It's mostly the words that comes out wrong, swinging the wand is the easy part..." Hermione got some snow and formed it into a snowball.  
  
"Engorgio," she mumbled and the snowball hit double size. Then she swung her wand once more and mumbled the spell. The snowball began to roll around in front of them before taking the form as a cat. "Snowball," Hermione called the cat that began meowing. The cat was pure white with icy eyes. It meowed again and began nuzzling against Severus's leg.  
  
"I could keep him, but the only problem is that he'll melt if I take him with me inside," Hermione bended down a padded the cat. It was furry and sweet. It resembled much like a regular cat, but if you padded this cat too much, your hands would get wet. And the cat would melt if it got too hot.  
  
"I can only imagine how many point professor McGonagall rewards you in class, you seem to be able to do everything." Hermione punched him lightly annoyed and blushing.  
  
"I am gifted," she informed proudly. "Do you want me to help you out? I am quite sure I can teach you a lot of spells that will help you in class," Hermione gave him a wicked smile. She knew he wasn't that happy about being taught by others than the professors, well, this is my girlfriend, and I really need help in transfiguration, he thought to himself.  
  
"Fine..." He scowled and Hermione smiled greatly. Letting her help him was important to her. She knew he rarely excepted help from others, but since they had gotten close friends he had let her help only a few times. He was a man of pride and from a family who thought that they could do everything without help. He wondered what his parents would say if they knew what he was doing.  
  
Screwing up in class all the time, letting another person help, no, not any person, a muggleborn. His girlfriend. He smiled to himself knowing that he had managed to piss his folks off completely. Well they would be pissed off, if he had told them. He was clever enough to know that telling them would cause hell. His father would arrive to the school demanding that the teacher, probably, was bad at teaching and then hell would be loose. He frowned; he hated his parents. Why did I get born into such a horrible family? He wondered.  
  
"What are you frowning at?" Hermione jerked him back into reality.  
  
"Nothing really," he lied as they opened the door to the castle and slipped inside. He wasn't sure if Hermione believed him, he had noticed that she was able to look through people.  
  
Hermione didn't pursue the matter of him frowning, she knew he didn't wish to talk about is, that was his decision. Being best friends with Harry Potter had taught Hermione a lot of things. Both her and Ron had learned Occlumency so that they were able to shut people out of their minds. Hermione had even taken the opportunity to learn some Legemency by herself. She wasn't mastering it, but with effort she was able to see the truth. Harry and Ron had learned it too, so if anyone tried to gain their trust, they knew how to deal with it.  
  
They had gone to the Room f Requirement to do it where Hermione spent the rest of the day teaching Severus spells. He soon mastered to transform smaller objects into animals and then she taught him some other useful spells too.  
  
The night crept closer and Hermione and Severus kissed lightly, before returning to their dorms just before curfew. The moonlight was shining through the windows, and making things get abnormal shadows. To her surprise, Hermione found the common room almost cleared, only a small bunch of Gryffindors sat talking very quietly together. Hermione suspected people had gone off early to bed to wake up early in the morning. Christmas Hermione thought, before climbing the staircase up to her dorm. The heavy breath of three girls was filling the room and Hermione did much not to disturb. Her bed was hot, probably a house elf that had warmed it up, she thought and fell asleep.  
  
"HOLLY!" Mirandas voice cut through Hermiones pleasant sleep. "GIFTS!" She could hear Miranda ripping paper of boxes and Hermione jumped out of bed. A small stack of gifts lay at the end of her bed.  
  
"Marry Christmas," Hermione wished the three girls.  
  
"You too," the response was unison. Hermione looked at her presents and sighed heavily, one gift was missing, her usually gift from Mrs. Weasley. She had never wished to get the usual jumper more than she did now. But there was no jumper with the initials HG.  
  
Slowly she started to unpack her presents.  
  
"Hey, Holly, thank you! This is just what I needed, I'm short on eyeliner some make-up!" Miranda attacked Hermione in a great hug and both girls laughed.  
  
"You're welcome," Hermione said breathless when Miranda had gotten off of her.  
  
The fist present was a small one with a following card.  
  
Dear Holly  
  
Here's something I thought you might like (I know I do!)  
  
Love Lily  
  
Hermione opened the gift; it was a long box with two quills along with two bottles of ink, London's quality quills. Hermione smiled and laid them neatly a side. It was a really good gift and she was really happy for it.  
  
The next one was form Sirius and James..  
  
Holly. Here's something I hope you like...  
  
Sirius and James.  
  
Hermione opened a small box filled with delicious candy. She was almost just about to eat one when she stopped. Could she trust Sirius and James for not putting a spell on them? She put them a side for a time, just until she was sure that there was nothing wrong with them.  
  
Next one was from –butterflies in tummy- Severus!  
  
To: Holly  
  
From: SS  
  
Hermione raised an eyebrow, wow; he was really creative when writing Christmas cards. It was a thick book with nothing but vacant pages. Or... The first page was filled with a neat handwriting, which she immediately recognised as Severus's.  
  
Holly  
  
This book is a personal book.  
  
You can use it for whatever you want to.  
  
I have one alike, I use it to write all spells and potions, everything, I've learnt at Hogwarts.  
  
I hope you like it and find it useful for whatever purpose you might have.  
  
Yours sincerely, with love,  
  
Severus Snape.  
  
Hermione gaped at the book; it was quite big.  
  
"This can be useful," she told herself and put it on her bed.  
  
Miranda gave her make-up guide for dummies with the comment,  
  
After the Yule ball, well I just had to get you this.  
  
Miranda.  
  
Hermione cast a glance at Miranda.  
  
"Thank you..." she gave Miranda a wry smile before returning to the last present.  
  
It was from Peter.  
  
From Peter  
  
The note just said. Hermione opened it. It was a school calendar. Hermione was actually very glad for that gift; she missed having a calendar. She had written her on pieces of paper until now and she had completely forgotten to buy one when she visited Diagon Alley. She smiled, thank you Peter.  
  
"Did you get candy from Sirius and James too?" Miranda asked and looked at over Hermione. She nodded. "I'm not quite sure if we should eat it..."  
  
"Yeah, I've put it aside for now too," Hermione gave a small snort before getting up form the floor. Hermione and Miranda went down in the common room where they met their friends. They thanked each other for the presents and then they headed for breakfast.  
  
"Hey..." Hermione had silently walked over to the Slytherin table. Severus looked up at her with a smile.  
  
"Thank you..." they both said in unison and giggled. Mostly Hermione giggled, Severus just gave a smile.  
  
"Ladies first."  
  
"Thank you for the present, I really loved it. It's perfect. It'll be really good to have, write notes down and potions and everything..." She hugged him and gave him a small kiss. He blushed. The only time they had ever kissed in front of others was at the Yule ball. He was still kinda shy.  
  
"And thank you too, it is great, I've already read it," Hermione smiled at her eager boyfriend.  
  
"Well, got to head back, see you after breakfast?" He nodded and she hurried off.  
  
Breakfast was soon over and Hermione met up with Severus. Hermione told to meet him in the library; she just had to collect some things.  
  
The library was empty except from her and Severus. She had collected her gift from Lily and Severus and was planning on writing everything she knew, in. They spend the whole day in the library and without the librarian noticing it, Hermione sneaked off to get some food for them.  
  
"I guess I'll start with spells..." Hermione thought out loud.  
  
"If you make chapters, then it'll sort it all out by itself," he informed. "Like, write potions, and everything with potions is put into that chapter by the book, quite cool," 'yes indeed' Hermione thought and did what he had said.  
  
So she started out with spells and then Accio and then she wrote what the spell did. Her charms were sort in alphabetical order and only an hour after, Hermione and filled three big pages with charms.  
  
"Expecto Patronum" Hermione muttered quietly. "Dementors..." she scribbled down in the book quickly with a small smile. Her protector was an otter, so fair, she remembered how it had swept around her when she first time created it. It had been difficult to learn, but she had managed it. After all, she was a quite powerful witch. Severus was reading and wasn't paying attention to her muttering, she smiled, he was so consumed reading in the book.  
  
"Four-Point Spell" She remembered telling Harry about in on their fourth year in the Triwizard tournament. "Make wand compass..." she mumbled and wrote it down. She looked up into the ceiling, could she other spells? She hated such things. When you needed to remember, it would be impossible. She sighed and looked around in a weak hope that what she might see something that would make her remember.  
  
"Lumus, nox..." she remembered the spells to lit the tip of ones wand and unlit it again.  
  
Hermione looked up from the book, she was a bit tired, she figured she could write the rest in some other days. Severus was still reading, but in a different book. She checked her watch, they had missed out on dinner.  
  
"Severus..." Hermione struggled against a yawn.  
  
"Yes?..." He looked up at her when he had finished reading the sentence.  
  
"We've missed out on dinner..." She pursed her lips in a small smile.  
  
"Oh?" He got out an old watch from his robe, "Yeah..." He yawned, "Library closes in ten minutes."  
  
It was almost nine o'clock and at ten o'clock every student should be in their common room or bed.  
  
"We've been here all day," Hermione stretched, she felt a bit hungry, they had only gotten that small bit of food Hermione had gotten earlier that day.  
  
A dim light from the torches hanging on the walls bathed the corridors of Hogwarts, as Hermione made her way to the common room after kissing Severus goodnight. They had gone to the Room of Requirement of the seventh floor and spend some quality time together.  
  
It was very dark, she could hear owls howling somewhere outside in the mysterious night. Hermione smiled mutely to herself, in situations like this one, she was really happy Filch wasn't hired yet. No Madam Norris patrolling the corridors. The caretaker was an old man called Willy Amos, he was kind towards people, not yelling too much. Hermione reached the portrait leading to the Gryffindor tower, the Fat Lady was asleep.  
  
"Hey..." Hermione whispered leaning closely to the portrait. "Hey..." she tried again. The picture exhaled and otherwise slept on. "Wake up!" Hermione said low, she knocked carefully on the picture frame hoping she would wake up. "HALLO!" She finally said out loud. The Fat Lady opened her eyes with a grunt and looked at Hermione.  
  
"Why are you up? I should forbid you to enter!" The portrait said furiously.  
  
"Sorry, won't happen again, Honey-sky," the Fat Lady looked grudgingly at her before opening and revealing a passage to the common room. Hermione heard the portrait mumble something, before sealing the entrance again.  
  
It was almost three in the morning when Hermione lay down in her warm bed, she cast a last glance out the window before falling heavy doze. 


	6. 6

**Sixth chap! – Getting things strait**

AN: So sorry that some of my reviewers can't read my story because of 'too' many gramma mistakes etc. My native language is **not** English. I do hope you can live and read on, even if there are mistakes here and there. Thank you.

**On to the story**

Christmas was over and all the students of Hogwarts were arriving with the Hogwarts train from Kings Cross station.  
  
Fifth and seventh years were the ones working especially hard due to exams. It was these times when Hermione caught herself wondering what was going to happen with her. She wasn't sure if she should apply for a further wizarding education or not. She had thought that she'd be back by now, but knowing that she wasn't was unnerving her. Should she keep studying and get an education? Hermione ended her train of thoughts when she stood in front of the gargoyle leading to Dumbledores office.  
  
"Sweets..." she tried out different passwords. "Lemon drop," to Hermiones surprise (or not) the gargoyle rotated and showed her the staircase leading to his office. Hermione knocked quietly on the wooden door and a quiet 'come in' was heard.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore..." Hermione said and closed the door behind her.  
  
"Ah, miss Granger," he said pointing friendly towards a chair in front of his desk. He called her by her real name when they were alone.  
  
"Sir, I was wondering what I should do. I don't know; it's quite obvious that I should get an education while being here, don't you think so too?" She bit her lower lip in a sign of uncertainty.  
  
"Yes, I am glad you came by. I've been wondering the same thing. As it is, I see no way for you to get back, yet. I am most sure to find one, but before I can, I think you should do what you find... appropriate..." Hermione nodded shortly, "lemon drop" he pushed a small plate towards her, and she smiled.  
  
"No thank you sir. I guess you're right, I'll just use my time here the best way I can..."  
  
"How are things going? Are you comfortable being back in time?" he picked up a lemon drop from the tray. There was a small screech from the other end of the room, Hermione turned her head towards the source of the noise, it was Fawkes. She hadn't noticed him being here since she got here.  
  
"Fawkes..." she mumbled with a smile before returning to Dumbledore. "Well, I sometimes forgets that I'm in the past, rather occasionally that is actually..." she smiled wryly at him, "but things are nice. I love hanging out with my friends' parents," she said ironically, "no, well I forget that I'm back, I just do what I do regularly, it's nice... I have lots of friends and I am doing great in class..." she paused sighing deeply, "I got Christmas presents, which reminds me: did you get my present?" she looked into his great smiling blue eyes.  
  
"Yes I did and you are most welcome, if there is anything else I can help you with, you let me know..." He smiled and played with his beard.  
  
"I will, thank you..."  
  
"The professors speak very highly of you in the staff room..." Hermione turned a light shade of red in her face, but inside she had a feeling that he was asking mutely about the Imperius curse and she had no idea what to answer.  
  
"Well, yeah, I do my best..." she finally said in a humble voice while gazing down the floor. She might be able to do Occlumency, but against Dumbledore, she would be powerless. "Well, thank you for the talk, it is very appreciated. I shall see you at lunch," Hermione got up and gave him a small bow with her head before leaving.  
  
"Okay," Hermione took a seat in the library at her usual table. She got out some paper and a quill.  
  
"Future plan," she quotes while writing it down. _'Guess I have to get an education, I'll just do what I would do in my own world...' _she thought and wrote down ideas. The truth was, that she was quite uncertain for what her wishes were for the future. Would she become an Auror like Harry and Ron? Would she be a ministry member? What? Or a professor at Hogwarts... Her heartbeat increased slightly, she knew what she wanted to do.  
  
She would become a professor, no an Auror and then she would become professor.  
  
She would then be able to help Harry and Ron when she came back in the defeat against Voldemort.  
  
Having created a plan for the future and her life, Hermione opened the books in the library in search for knowledge. Over January Hermione had red at least eight books about Auror training and with grades topping in every subjects she couldn't see how they could refuse her.  
  
Besides reading about Auror training Hermione also used her time to read about children and problems.  
  
"Professor McGonagall," Hermione called out after the double lesson in transfigurations had ended.  
  
"Miss Raven?" McGonagall said with a small smile as she approached. "What can I do for you?"  
  
"Well, I was wondering if you could do me a favour..." Hermione stepped closer to the desk, "I am uncertain of what my future beholds, but I have two things in mind. Auror training and becoming a Hogwarts professor," Hermione thought professor McGonagall looked flattered for a moment.  
  
"Auror training miss Raven?"  
  
"Yes. Auror training. I wish to become an Auror and then I wish to teach at Hogwarts. I've used the last month reading books about Auror training, now I need to know about teaching. I was wondering if you could give me permission to go to Hogsmaede and buy up a book about it..."  
  
"There are no schools or books learning you how to teach, miss Raven. People are hired for what they know about certain subjects..."  
  
"I know, but it is more light reading. Reading about how to handle children and such..." Hermione looked intense at the professor waiting for her answer.  
  
"I do trust you to let you off alone to Hogsmaede, but I am afraid that that won't be enough. I am very sorry miss Raven, perhaps you can ask Hagrid to go with you?" McGonagall was sad to dismiss an idea of one of her brightest students ever.  
  
"I will do that. If we take off right away, I will let Hagrid confirm when we get back," Hermione bowed shortly and left.  
  
She hadn't really spoken with Hagridhermione since she got sent back, only a couple of times when they incidentally met each other.  
  
"Hey, Hagrid..." Hermione said as the giant opened the door to his hut. At first he looked bewildered at her, but then he smiled happy to get company.  
  
"Come in you miss Raven, it's Raven, right?" Hermione nodded and took a seat in the chair. She looked around; nothing had changed. Well except his dog, Fang, which was a puppy. "What brings you to me hut?"  
  
"Well, I was just wondering if you could help me out. You see, I wish to buy a book in Hogsmaede, but I can't go unless escorted by a Hogwarts employee... So then I thought of you, wondered if you'd like to follow me..." Hermione figured she put it in a sort of friendly way, just to let him know, mutely, that someone else cares beside Dumbledore and McGonagall.  
  
"Tha'll be great," he said with a huge smile. Hermione got up. "We can go right now..." Hermione got up, 'shit, I'll have to run up to get my money,' she thought, but then again. 'If Harry can, I can." They had gotten outside hit hut when Hermione flickered her wand and yelled "Accio purse!"  
  
Hagrid looked at her surprised not sure if he should compliment her. Nothing happened for some minutes until Hermione saw something coming right at them. She held out her hand and the purse landing neatly in it.  
  
"Wow miss Raven, gotta complimen' you for tha'..." He said as they took off.  
  
"Call me Holly," she gave him a short smile.  
  
Hogsmaede seemed to be completely empty. The streets were covered with a mix between snow and rain and the cold air was cooling your lounges making every breath you took hurt a little. Hermione told that she would meet him in the Three Broomsticks.  
  
There weren't really any books to buy about teaching or raising children. Those few, which existed, were about children from just getting born till around the age of five. She scowled with a heavy sigh after which she headed towards the Three Broomsticks.  
  
'This explains the lack of people outside,' Hermione thought as she entered the bar.  
  
It seemed that every single person in Hogsmaede had went to the Three Broomsticks. Heavy fumes of tobacco smoke had taken over the bar and making a person unable to breath any fresh air. People were chattering out loud. Some looked to see who had opened the door to the world outside, the cold world. The room was vaguely lit, but she managed to point out Hagrid right away. He was occupying at least three barstools in front of the bar. Hermione went over to him and sat next to him. She bought a butter bear while watching people; some guy was sitting in the corner with three friends and laughing out loud. He caught her eye and raised his butter beer in salute and she raised hers with a careful smile before turning away from him.  
  
"Yeh dien' ge' wha' yeh seek'?" He asked. It would have been pretty difficult to make out what he had just said if she hadn't known him for so many years. His accent (what accent?) was making it sometimes difficult to understand what he was telling. Hermione remembered her fifth years with Umbridge, God she wished she could just change the future slightly when thinking of Umbridge.  
  
"No, unfortunately not..." She took a sip from the butter beer letting the warmth spread through her body making her nice and warm. "Professor McGonagall wishes to know I didn't went here alone, if it is not too troubling will you go and tell her when we get back?"  
  
"Of course I'll talk with her..." he drank the rest of the content that was in his big cup and got up. Hermione had at that time drank her butter beer.  
  
"Lets go," she got up and moved towards the exit. The heavy fumes were making her dizzy and the first thing she did when she got outside, was to take a deep breath of the fresh air.  
  
Hermione walked with Hagrid to professor McGonagalls where Hagrid explained that they had just been in Hogsmaede. McGonagall nodded in acceptance and Hermione and Hagrid was free to leave.  
  
"Em, Hagrid, thank you for going..." Hermione said when they got to the place dividing their paths.  
  
"No problem miss Raven..."  
  
"Holly," she reminded him.  
  
"Holly, see yeh..." Hermione nodded and waved before walking quietly up some stairs.  
  
Hermione walked strait up to her dorm and lay down in her bed making sure the curtains were closed around completely. At first she just looked up into the enchanted ceiling of her bed, then came tears closely following my sobs. Hermione cried burrowing her head tightly into the pillows.  
  
The sobs eventually became silent as she dozed off into a heavy sleep that lasted until, the next day's first noise.  
  
Hermione opened her eyes, a bird was singing somewhere outside. She got up and pulled the curtains away allowing her to step out from the bed. She was still in her cloths. She closed her eyes remembering what had happened, a vague memory that became clearly once she focused, and made her remember that she had cried and dozed off.  
  
She looked at her watch; it was Friday and six in the morning. The water cascaded down her back as she stood in the shower cabinet letting the water freshen her up. The water was rinsing down on her shoulders and back giving what reminded of light massage. She enjoyed it and wondered for a second if it was enchanted. It probably was.  
  
What seemed like hours, were only fifteen minutes. No one had woken up when she exited the bathroom a quarter past six. She got dressed and found her schoolbag and headed towards the Great Hall.  
  
Everything seemed so quiet and peaceful. Hermione stood in the door looking out on the open landscape which was about to awake from its calm slumber. Hermione stifled a yawn before letting her feet drag her to the Great Hall. There was 20 minutes until breakfast when Hermione took a seat at the Gryffindor table. The long shower she had taken hadn't awakened her and she almost fell off in a doze.  
  
"Miss Raven," a happy voice rang out and Hermione turned her head tiredly and met Dumbledore.  
  
"You're up early," Hermione straightened herself tiredly as Dumbledore approached.  
  
"Yeah, went off to bed early and woke early..." She gave quiet snort and placed her arm in a position as a pillar letting it hold her head upright.  
  
"Ah, yes. Better than not waking up at all... I remembered I once fell into a heavy doze and woke up the following night, bad things. My entire day had been wasted on sleeping..." Hermione grinned at him, what an amazing man, she noted.  
  
"Occasionally sleep is needed. If you sleep an entire day, it's probably because you needed it..." Hermione answered weary.  
  
"Yes, I suppose you're right... You didn't attend dinner last night; did you sleep? Professor McGonagall informed me that you had went off to Hogsmaede with Hagrid, did you found what you were looking for?"  
  
"Yes," Hermione yawned, "... and no," she paused and looked into the table. "Did she also inform you of my purpose?"  
  
"Yes. Auror training is a difficult thing..."  
  
"My two best friends are becoming Aurors after Hogwarts, thought I'd become it too..." She affirmed the thought he had about the future being like hell if 'everyone' became Aurors.  
  
"I want to be a teacher after that, I had hoped that I could find some books about young people and teaching them, in Hogsmaede, but I failed to find anyone..."  
  
"Yes. This world is not like the muggle world. We do not have further educations like you do in every subject..."  
  
"Tell me about it..." Hermione said sardonic and stretched.  
  
"See you later miss Raven," said Dumbledore after a long pause and wandered off, but not before sending her a glance with a twinkle in it, she shook her head almost disbelievingly at him.  
  
The day seemed over before it had even begun. Hermione had walked around it was reminded of coma. She fell tiredly down in masses of pillows in the Room of Requirement. Everything seemed so dim; she barely noticed the door opening and somebody entering.  
  
"My love..." a soft whisper caressed her closely. She had her eyes shut but smiled. Severus lay down next to her, she felt his gaze upon her. He caressed her face lightly before she felt him lean in over her and kiss her. She answered the kiss lightly.  
  
"I'm tired..." she mumbled leaning into his chest. His heartbeat was slow and relaxing.  
  
"Then sleep, my love," he whispered back in close to her ear. He tugged her closely into his embrace.  
  
"No... I've slept too much already..." she whispered back in his chest, "just need to wake up..." she yawned and felt him kiss her forehead, she smiled.  
  
"You're not helping me to wake up..." she complained and opened her eyes slightly letting them adjust to the light.  
  
"It's nice looking at you being so peaceful..." he told her and kissed her forehead. She stretched her neck a bit and kissed him on the mouth.  
  
"I'm lucky to have you..." she notified with a smug on her face. She turned around to face him better.  
  
ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
  
Hermione and Severus spend much time together talking and relaxing. Sometimes they sat in the library doing homework or reading and sometimes they spent time in the Room of Requirement where Hermione taught him spells and he helped her with potions. Hermione was skilful in potions, but she could always get better. She ruled all other fields of study except of potions, which Severus Snape was the top guy in. Hermione had picked up some rumours telling that she was shagging with Severus all the time, she couldn't help laughing at it. Shagging wasn't the proper word, making love, was. And they weren't making love all the time. They spent much time talking and relaxing or reading and only little time trying out sexual fantasies.  
  
"So, Holly, where've you been?" Sirius asked almost too sweet when Hermione entered the common room. She looked at him and was surprised when his thoughts swept into her mind. It was a long time since she had used Legemency without even doing any effort. She usually was suppose to concentrate, but this time his thoughts flew right at her just by looking at him.  
  
"No we haven't been shagging and if we had if would be none of your business," she answered to his unspoken question, her cheeks reddened to a light pink.  
  
"Right," he said in a sarcastic voice that only made her cheeks blush more.  
  
"Dirty dog," she snapped and looked into the floor.  
  
"Sorry," he smirked at her reaction and turned back to do his homework. Hermione looked up, she had never really seen him do his homework before.  
  
"Hey Holly," a voice rang out, Hermione turned to see Lily and Miranda entering the common room.  
  
"Hullo..." She smiled towards them and got up when they silently nudging their heads against the staircase and dorms.  
  
"So... where've you been lately? Library?" Miranda asked with a sarcastic voice. Hermione sighed and shook her head with a grin.  
  
"Is he good?" Lily closed the door behind them. Hermione turned towards Lily shocked.  
  
"Lily Evans, what kind of question is that?" She asked outraged by the cheeky question.  
  
"Oh, come on Holly! You know you can't hide it forever..." Lily said with much confident.  
  
"Want to make that a bet?" Hermione laughed at her two shameless friends.  
  
"Please tell us..." Miranda pestered with a voice that indicated her on the edge of crying.  
  
"All right!" Hermione said out loud and took a seat on her bed. Lily and Miranda flew over to her bed and made them comfortable, Hermione raised an eyebrow at it.  
  
"Yes," she said plainly and looked at them. Lily widened her eyes waiting for more. Then when nothing happened, "Yes?" She asked impatient.  
  
"Yes what?" Hermione asked as if she had no what Lily was talking about whatsoever.  
  
"Yes what? What are you saying yes to?" Miranda asked quite impatient too. Hermione let out a small laugh.  
  
"Yes, we've made love..." She blushed.  
  
"And... tell some details..." Lily requested with a great smug on her face. Very pleased with herself that she had made her friend, Hermione, confess.  
  
"Lily! You have a boyfriend, you don't need any details..."  
  
"But I do!" Miranda blurted out before Hermione finished her sentence.  
  
"Okay, yes."  
  
"Yes what?" Lily almost screamed on the edge of insanity.  
  
"Yes in like, it was good as a first time or yes as, or he's definitely tried it before?" Miranda pushed lightly.  
  
"I don't know! It was my fist time. He was skilled... He IS skilled..." Hermione suddenly blushed again and giggled like a five year old. "Like, he makes sure that it's good for me... too..." She avoided their gazes by looking out the window.  
  
"The git's a love god," Miranda said before she could stop herself and an unwilling shudder went through them all.  
  
"What are you shuddering at?" Lily grinned and Hermione just smirked at her mysteriously. _'If they only knew' _she thought with a small smile placed on her lips.  
  
ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
  
"I expect each of my students to do their best, that means work hard!" McGonagall said out loud while pacing around in the classroom, "I did not let you attend Transfiguration in N.E.W.T standard if I didn't think you could handle it..." Hermione thought she made it sound like it was a gift they had receive when being allowed to attend transfiguration in N.E.W.T standard. McGonagall ended the pacing in front of her table and looked out on the students. She flickered her wand and their assignment appeared on the blackboard. Every single class was tough getting through.  
  
Hermione attended all of her classes in N.E.W.T (getting almost too much credit from her teachers). She was the only one attended every class in N.E.W.T. Lily was close by, but she didn't attend Magical Creatures anymore or Arithmancy. Hermione was unsure why she was taken N.E.W.T standard in Magical Creatures, she knew that she wouldn't going to have a job needing knowledge about magical creates. But what she wouldn't do to prove that she was the most brilliant ever attending Hogwarts.  
  
"What are you going to be when you grow up?" Lily asked when the classes had ended. They sat with Miranda in the Gryffindor common room and did their homework.  
  
"Auror..." She told with a wry smile.  
  
"Cool, James wants to become one too along with Sirius and Remus," Lily told with a curt smile. Hermione stopped doing her homework and looked up at Lily. It wasn't until she was feeling quite dizzy when she remembered to breathe. She knew James, Sirius and Remus were becoming Aurors, she knew their future, why was it so weird now?  
  
"Oh-?" She faked a surprised face, "what about you?"  
  
"Don't know yet..." She furrowed her eyebrows and fetched a book that lay on the table near. Hermione swallowed, a limp in her throat was making it hard to breathe.  
  
"Miranda?" Hermione turned her head towards Miranda who shrugged her shoulders.  
  
"Dunno... Guess..." She let the feathers of the quill caress her face gently while she thought about it. "Naa... have no idea, like children though," she gave a great smile and they laughed.  
  
"Yeah, I can just imagine you'll have ten children when we grow up..." Lily told truthfully.  
  
"Maybe, the part about actually giving birth to a child is scaring the shit out of me though..." She confessed and trembled lightly.  
  
"Yeah, I think it hurts freaking much," said Hermione low. Lily smiled.  
  
"I can't wait to get children, running around pregnant and looking for baby cloths and all," they all smiled at the thought of themselves pregnant. "I think I want two children or one. Yeah, one. I don't want my children to have a relationship like I have with my sister, of course there's a difference since she's muggle and I'm a witch, but still..." Hermione nodded smiling, yep, Lily was going to have a beautiful young child, a boy.  
  
"I think it is too early to discuss children, we're still in school. I don't want children until I've gotten an education and are sure I can raise it properly," Hermione got out some of her homework. She wondered why people in this age were getting children so fast.  
  
"I think you should just, jump into it..." Lily leaned back against one of the beds and closed her eyes tiredly. Hermione looked at her for some seconds, "guess you're right," she quietly and continued to do her homework.


	7. 7

**Seventh chap! – So this is the end?  
  
AN: This was really tough to write. I did a lot of changed through the way so there might be some mistakes. My apology if there is.**

**Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, keep it going! ;-)**

ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
  
Hermione was studying every day until late night, for her exams. She was helping Severus learning spells and then she was reviewing her notes making sure she had everything.  
  
Every day seemed to pass quickly and Hermione suddenly realised that March had arrived along with quiet sunshines. The trees and flowers seemed to wake up from their dwell and prepare for the approaching summer. As much as Hermione wanted to go outside, she had to prepare for the exams and do her homework.  
  
"I am so anxious, I am so anxious..." Miranda repeated while walking forth and back in the common room.  
  
"Jesus! Mindy, stop pacing around, you're driving me nuts!" Sirius snapped and Miranda stopped.  
  
"I can't take this, I feel like everything I know is messed up in my head. I should sort it out, but I don't know how!" Many of the students had already had a breakdown and it seemed Miranda was on her way to get one too.  
  
"Mindy, sit down. Come here..." Hermione padded on the couch and Miranda took a seat.  
  
"There's two months until the exams. If you wish to do good then use your time reasonable," Hermione told calming, "here," she got out the book she had gotten from Severus and handed it to her. "Revive this," Miranda looked at the book.  
  
"What is it?" She let her fingers caress the cover before opening it.  
  
"It is my brain. Everything I know is in here. Notes about the history of magical creatures, potions, spells, everything." The others looked up from their homework. The book was quite thick (it was extending itself with extra pages if needed).  
  
"It's nearly filled," Miranda noted and flipped through the pages. "It's really detailed..." Hermione had spent her spare time writing in everything she knew. She had been in the library to remember and so she was sure she had gotten everything in it. The book contained over two hundred charms and spells along with a great deal of potions. All that studying made her able to do a lot of things.  
  
"You know how to do the Poly Juice elixir?" She asked surprised. Hermione knew that Miranda and Lily didn't know that the 'boys' had made one. She had even heard Lily asked why they had pet names to each other.  
  
"That's a difficult potion..." Sirius grinned innocently.  
  
"I don't think so. I managed, breaking around fifty school rules when doing so, to make it in my second year to perfection," she smiled proudly removing the grin of their faces. The potion Sirius, James and Peter had made to become animals wasn't far from the Poly Juice potion. Just needed to add some other things so that it would last forever.  
  
"Wow, you really know a lot of spells," Miranda showed the book to the others. Hermione didn't mind; she had nothing in mind about boasting sometimes. She smiled mutely to herself.  
  
"What spell is this?" Remus asked and pointed at a difficult spell. Hermione remembered using it when cursing the fake Galleons in her fifth year.  
  
"It's kind of a contact spell, I used it when I needed to get in contact with others without people noticing. Created fake Galleons and put the spell on them. Then with the main Galleons you was able to adjust the numbers after what date and time you wished to meet... Just something I used with my last boyfriend at my last school," she lied innocently.  
  
"Expecto Patronum, I know that one..." James said looking in the book, "I've heard it's to get rid of Dementors with... Can you create a complete one?" She nodded vaguely, "it's really difficult." He told.  
  
"Yes," she looked around; she didn't feel like boasting anymore, she felt her cheeks being quite hot which usually meant that they were red.  
  
ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
  
It was a hot summer day in the end of May when Hermione entered the Great Hall, which looked like it had done in her fifth year. Single tables with personal chairs were scattered around in the Great Hall. Hermione found one of the tables with her name and took a seat. She watched people entering and where they sat. Remus was sitting three seats behind her and Lily two seats next to her. Sirius was sitting up front and three chairs away from his, up front too, sat James and Peter two chairs behind him. Hermione shook her head smiling; she had a faint idea of why her two mates sat in front.  
  
She looked around for Severus, he had just entered the room. She was gave him a small wave with her hand which he returned. He took his seat at the back of the room.  
  
"Hullo!" A voice rang out and Hermione saw professor Flitwick up in front of them all. "Welcome, in some seconds we'll get started. Now, I trust you all to do your best and keep quiet until it's over..." professor Flitwick flicked his wand and a dozen papers flew from the table behind him and onto each students table.  
  
Hermione noticed the examiners, that were going to examine them later one by one, was sitting around the room. Making sure people were quiet, perhaps?  
  
"You may turn your papers and begin," said the tiny professor Flitwick and people picked up their papers and turned it over.  
  
Charms and DADA was put together in the written exams because that it was so close to each other anyway.  
  
**Charms, Defence Against Dark Arts – N.E.W.T level.  
**  
**Name: **Holly Hermione Granger Raven House: Gryffindor.  
  
_(Write only charms that you're able to create)  
_

* * *

The exam was challenge to Hermione, but nonetheless she answered each question. She raised her eyebrow surprised at one of the questions.  
  
I shall be your secret keeper? Hermione bit her lip, this was the charm Dumbledore used with Sirius to make him the secret keeper of Lily and James's hiding. Fidelius Charm, she wrote it down and sighed.  
  
There were questions about the unforgivable spells and there were questions about the simplest spells like Accio. Hermione managed to answer every question along with a long description and eventual counter curse even though it said nothing about writing the counter curse. The questions were very different from her fifth year. Some of them were easy asking about what a certain spell did and others questioned an act like the one with I shall be your secret keeper.  
  
What spells do you know that creates light? Hermione smiled and wrote down, Lumos, Incendio (though it is a fire lightening curse, it still lights) she wrote down a bit hesitative. Then she wrote the spell she had used to set Snapes cloak on fire in her first year and the one she used when she, Harry and Ron was caught by the Devil's Snare. She also wrote one to create fireflies.  
  
You are being attacked, what will you do about it? Hermione reckoned there was no wrong answer to that, just maybe a good explanation unless you were completely stupid.  
  
'For start I would use the Shield Charm which is a spell to deflect smaller curses. Then I would probably use Expilliarmus – the disarming spell- and then ask for an explanation. If the spell how ever is greater than a small charm, then I doubt that the regular shield charm is very protective. In such cases I would consider using the Shildius charm, which create a complete wall around you making any attack impossible.  
  
If however, the attacker is not a human being but an animal or worse that attacked me, then I probably would use the stunning spell. If that doesn't work then the Expecto Patronum spell works not only on dementors but also on people and animals (after being hit by that spell the person is a bit disorientated. Nothing bad will happen to the person). Hermione wrote it remembering when Harry had used it in his third year when Malfoy and some other Slytherins had dressed themselves as dementors.  
  
ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
  
Hermione was quite satisfied when the three hours ended. She had really done well, she thought.  
  
"Put down your pencils," professor Flitwick requested and Hermione did so and then they were allowed to leave.  
  
"How did you do?" Lily asked when she caught up with Hermione.  
  
"Really good, I really think I'll get a good grade," Hermione gave her a big smile. "You?"  
  
"Nervous like hell. I think I did okay. The questions about healing dragged me down though," she gave a weak smile. Hermione thanked the lord mutely for being friends with Harry. Being friends with Harry had made her realise that she had to learn about healing. Not much, just enough to help when he needed it. Gods knows how often he runs into trouble!  
  
"Hey..." Sirius and James said as the met outside the Great Hall along with Miranda, Remus a Peter.  
  
"Holly..." Somebody said behind her and Hermione turned around to meet Severus. "I'm studying the Slytherin common room, so... I won't see you before lunch and dinner..." he told her quietly.  
  
"Oh, okay... I'll see you later," she kissed him lightly and felt him blush. They were standing in front of her friends, his enemies. She apologized mutely and caressed his hands before he slipped through a door leading to the dungeons.  
  
"Shy, is he?" James said grinning but Lily started at him cruelly.  
  
"We are a bit shy yes," Hermione told with red cheeks and went outside with her friends.  
  
ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
  
The following week Hermione and the rest of the seventh years were attending the written exams in Magical Creatures (how to recognize them and what to do about – being taught by Hagrid through three years paid off when the questions involved magical dangerous creatures), potions and transfiguration – Her work was precise and really well done.  
  
ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
  
She was standing outside the Great Hall waiting for her name to be called out. It was the exam in Dark Arts; she would have to show off her skill in front of a teacher and examiner.  
  
She was called up to the first table where her DADA teacher sat along with an examiner, an elderly witch.  
  
"Hello," Hermione said cheerfully trying to show no signs of anxiety. She extended her hand to the examiner who accepted it. "Professor," she said with a curt nod and shook his hand too.  
  
"Miss Raven?" The witch asked looking at the parchment in front of her.  
  
"Yes," Hermione smiled wide.  
  
"Your teacher tells me that you've achieved the highest grades in DADA, very impressed. Looking at your paper from the written exam I must ask you if you are aware, that you were only suppose to write spells you knew how to make." she looked at Hermione before glancing down the papers again.  
  
"Yes I am, and I have only written things I know how to produce," she said confident meeting the examiners eyes.  
  
"So you know how to produce the Shildius charm and a complete Patronum?" She asked raising an eyebrow. She sounded as if she didn't believe Hermione. Hermione sank a limp; she was getting nervous.  
  
"Yes," she said confident.  
  
"Will you show me?" The examiner asked sweetly and Hermione nodded slightly. Hermione mumbled the spell and a great green shield surrounded her. She saw the examiner write something down and then she muttered once more and the curse disappeared. "Well done, Patronum?"  
  
Hermione took a deep breath and let her mind flow. The happiest things in her life, Harry, Ron, Severus... Severus... Severus... Hermione flicked her wand and pointed just next to herself so that only her examiner and professor could see it.  
  
"Expecto Patronum!" A silver otter appeared next to her, and moved around on the floor before dissolving. She looked at her professor who seemed stunned and the examiner seemed quite surprised too.  
  
"Well done, well done," she said impressed and then the actual test started.  
  
Hermione thought it went rather well; she was able to do everything without any mistakes.  
  
"That was all, thank you miss Raven. You may leave," Hermione shook their hands with a smile before leaving.  
  
"Oh, professors," Hermione turned to the examiner and her DADA professor, "I would appreciate that you won't tell anyone about my Patronum... If anyone, then only professor Dumbledore." Her professor and examiner looked slightly surprised but nodded anyway.  
  
ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
  
Transfiguration went great too. When one of the other students accidentally turned a big vase into 20 birds, which flew around screeching crazily, Hermione was the first one to calm down the birds using a spell and then transform them into a vase again, before handing it over to the student who was looking quite dizzy. That surely gave some extra credit and then Hermione continued on her own exam.  
  
Charm was the last exam and Hermione ended with flair. She had managed to impress her examiners quite much.  
  
She didn't speak much about the exams with her friends. She was mad at herself for writing that she was able to produce a Patronum; she shouldn't have done that. She just hoped that her professor and the examiner would keep quiet, as she had told them to.  
  
ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
  
"I think it was really easy," Hermione said when they exited the castle after the last of the gang had finished.  
  
"I think it was a bit difficult..." James confessed and Hermione noticed the other agree as they all walked outside. Hermione walked with them down to a tree near the lake where they sometimes sat and where she had been with Severus.  
  
"Where's Severus?" Hermione scouted the grass field, which was filled with exhausted seventh years.  
  
"Maybe he's inside," Miranda said and cast a glance around too.  
  
"Or maybe he has bad experiences with exams," Lily shot a glare at James.  
  
"What do you mean? He's clever, it can't have been that bad..." Hermione said with a smile.  
  
"No, you misunderstood me," Lily said in a too sweet voice.  
  
"Lily, don't make Holly mad at us..." James pleaded and Hermione shot them all a confused glare.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, you see... At our fifth year, we had just ended the exams and James hadn't grown up yet. They're not really... fond of each other, your boyfriend, and mine. Humiliation..." Lily trailed off with a sigh.  
  
"What did you do to him?" Hermione asked with wide eyes.  
  
"It was a long time ago... As Lily told, we were not friends..." James told trying to calm her down. Hermione remembered Harry being sad about something. She gasped as she remembered him telling about how his parents had treated Snape.  
  
"No wonders he won't go outside, it's four against one. You (James), Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail," Hermione complained.  
  
"We've grown up, but I guess we were pretty tough on him... Apologize for us, will you?" Sirius asked politely and James nodded in the background along with Remus.  
  
"I will..." Hermione knew he wouldn't accept their apologises. She knew that he knew they were only apologizing because that he dated her. She let out a stream of air before getting to her feet. "I'll go find him, see you later..." she walked up to the castle, she wondered where he could be. The exams were completely over so she doubted he would be in the library. Maybe he was in the garden? She walked around in the garden, but with no result.  
  
"ARH! Where the fuck is he?!" Hermione roared annoyed.  
  
"Looking for somebody?" Hermione turned around surprised by the voice.  
  
"Um..." she said surprised.  
  
"Raven..."  
  
"Malfoy..." Hermione said in a honey sweet voice with a contrived smile. He walked closer and Hermione instinctively took a step back.  
  
"Lost track of Severus?"  
  
"Actually yes, I am looking for my beloved boyfriend" she said with a satisfied smile.  
  
"Never could or can figure out what he sees in you," they stood in front of each other gazing into each other's eyes.  
  
"Same to you..." she spat back, "especially since Slytherins, most of them, are known for being cowards, no wonder why you leave him when things gets a bit... hot..."  
  
"Clever," he smirked and walked some steps away from her. "I wonder what Severus would do if he knew the truth about you... You don't exist. Even if you did have middle name..." He paced around quietly behind her.  
  
"Yes, he told me you've been looking into my record."  
  
"If it existed..."  
  
"I exist. You should be happy for Severus that he's found love..."  
  
"So you say..." he had stopped walking and she could feel him standing just behind her.  
  
"I don't question Severus's friends. I don't tell him who he should hang out with or who he shouldn't. If you would be so kind, if not for me, then for Severus, stop checking up on me," she turned her head slightly and saw him out of the corner of her eye. He smiled ironically. There was a pause and Hermione turned around to face him. She stretched her hand towards him.  
  
"Deep inside you, I believe you appreciate Severus as the friend he is. Even though you don't show your appreciation towards him I know it's there," he looked coldly at her extended hand. "What do you say? Give a... light friendship a chance between us? No cruel comments or hatred, for Severus?" her arm was heavy from hanging in the air waiting for his response. "I won't tell anyone about this little deal of ours," she encouraged smiling.  
  
"I don't care about that. For Severus," they shook hands carefully. "I'll be nice towards you since you're dating Severus... He's in the Slytherin common room, I'll tell him to meet you out here. I am going inside anyway," he swept past her and headed for the entrance of the castle. He heard her say "thank you," before disappearing completely.  
  
She took a seat on a nearby bench. That went rather well, she thought surprised. The evil monster can be sweet after all. Maybe, beneath the cowardice which the Slytherins possess, Severus and Malfoy are really good friends?  
  
"Hey..." A quiet voice said and Hermione looked up and met Snape. She broke into a great smile.  
  
"Hey!" She got up and greeted him with a kiss and hug.  
  
"Sorry, was too anxious to go outside. Really hope that my scores are good in potions..." they sat down and held around each other.  
  
"Don't be, I am quite sure you did fine. Actually, I know you did..." she gave him a big smile and kissed him passionately.  
  
"We're finished with our exams..." he whispered sweetly in her ear before lifting her up from the ground. Hermione shrieked at his act and laughed out loud as he ran around with her and into the castle. If anyone had seen the act, they would have had a heart attack.  
  
He put her down between pillows in the Room of Requirement. She was still laughing and he was quite exhausted. He fell down next to her and looked into her beautiful brown eyes.  
  
"I love you Holly," he said sincere and Hermione stopped laughing.  
  
"I love you too Severus," they leaned closer to each other and kissed.  
  
Hermione was watching the students disappear through the entrance hall and outside where hundreds of horseless carriages were waiting for them (Hermione could see the horses now, she had seen her parents die Voldemorts attempt to make her speak). Everyone was going home, except the seventh years that were spending one last day at Hogwarts due to the graduation party that would take place the following day.  
  
Hermione sighed heavily and dragged her gaze away from the students. It was ten o'clock in the morning and she had nothing to do. Her friends were outside enjoying the weather and Severus was... gone, well she figured he was in the Slytherin common room.  
  
She dragged herself outside and down to her friends who was sitting by the three next to the lake.  
  
"Hullo..." Miranda said lying on her stomach on the grass.  
  
"Hi..." she muttered and took a seat.  
  
"I can't wait until tomorrow," Sirius said quietly but with excitement in his voice.  
  
"Yeah, me neither. I am going to meet Lily's parents..." James smiled brightly and Lily giggled. Graduation day is the only day when it is possible for an invited muggle to visit Hogwarts.  
  
"And I'm going to meet yours..." Lily sat with a wry smile.  
  
"I really hope my parents aren't coming, actually, I know they don't," Sirius said darkly and leaned up against the tree.  
  
Hermione had been at Grimaulds Place, she had seen what kind of wizard people who lived there.  
  
"Talking about parents, are you going to meet Snapes parents?" Remus asked breaking Hermiones train of thoughts. She looked at him for some seconds before his question sunk in.  
  
"Eh... uh...wha'?" she said confused and the others laughed.  
  
"Wake up... You meeting Severus's parents?" Remus tried again.  
  
"What? When? Tomorrow... I don't know, I haven't thought about that... oh my god, I think I am!" Hermione nearly fell into the water.  
  
"I'm sure they're nice..." Sirius said calming.  
  
"Yeah, maybe... But what if they ask me about... you know, my parents... I have no where to go after school... I really hope they don't invite me home or something, I am too nervous for that!" Hermione said forgetting to breathe.  
  
Hermione wondered for a moment, his parents were probably purebloods, they would forbid him to see her if they knew that she wasn't. Okay, conclusion: Snape hadn't told about her yet/ if he had, then he would have told that she was a pureblood. She doubted that they would let them see each other if they knew she wasn't. She also had to come up with some strange story about her life; Hermione thought about what to tell before returning to 'the real world' again.  
  
"It's going to be weird tomorrow. I had honestly thought my parents would be there when I graduated," Hermione told slowly. The others looked at her silently, Hermione had only talked about her parents once, and that was when she told that they were dead.  
  
"No worries mate! We're going to have fun anyway. For my point of view I have no parents either..." Sirius let out a laugh that made Hermione feel a lot better.  
  
ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
  
Lunch was very quiet. Hermione had decided to sit with Severus and eat. They sat in the end of the Slytherin table near the head table while the rest of the seventh years sat further up.  
  
"Miss Raven," a voice called when Hermione had just taken a seat with Severus. She looked up and saw professor McGonagall calling her name. She got up and went over to her.  
  
"Professors," she bowed her head lightly before focusing on professor McGonagall.  
  
"Miss Raven. I have talked with the examiners and Dumbledore," she lowered her voice a bit,  
  
"You've earned top grades in every subject and with that becoming the most brilliant ever attending Hogwarts in over 30 years!" McGonagall nearly cried and Hermione widened her eyes and smiled brightly. "I was wondering if you would like to throw a speech on the behalf of the students? I know you've only been here a year, but Dumbledore requested, almost demanded, that you should do it," she shot Dumbledore a glare who smiled joyfully.  
  
"That would be an honour, professor," Hermione said thanking her.  
  
"An another thing, tomorrow you will receive a trophy for being the brightest student, just so you don't get too surprised..." McGonagall smiled at her sweetly and Hermione nodded.  
  
"Thank you professor," Hermione said and bowed towards all the teachers before taking a seat with Severus again.  
  
"Severus," Hermione said remembering about his parents, he looked up at her, "I was wondering if you've told your parents about me? If you haven't that's okay, I mean I am muggle born... I will tell them that I am... pureblood if you want me to?" Hermione took a deep breath. She was proud of being muggleborn, but if his parent were freaking out about it she would lie, even though it would be painful to deny her life.  
  
"Well..." he said carefully, she looked into his mind to make it easier, she was right. They didn't know. She could see he didn't want to ask her to lie, but she also saw that they would freak out like she thought they would.  
  
"Don't worry, I am a proud witch and I am proud of my life, but I guess I can let the truth slip this time," she gave him a sweet smile that reassured him that she was okay with it. He was the only person who knew the truth about her being muggle born.  
  
"No, don't. You're right. I hate my parents. They are so... I will tell them that you're muggleborn and tell them that you're one of the brightest people I've ever known..." he stopped nervously. Hermione had to know why; she looked into his eyes. Voldemort.  
  
This would be it. His parents were, not surprising to her, purebloods with the vision that Voldemort was right in his doings. Voldemort had since Christmas, crept out of his hiding, and shown the world his identity. If his parents were supporters of Voldemort, she would have no other choice than to pretend to be pureblood otherwise bad things could happen.  
  
"I know the truth..." she whispered quietly looking into his eyes intensely, "Vol-you-know-who... we must pretend that I am pureblood, it's for the best. Too much mayhem will not do, not now," Snape looked stunned at her.  
  
"Relax, one day you'll know..." she leaned over the table and gave him a short kiss on the lips.  
  
ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
  
Hermione had gotten on a graduation robe that every student had received. She looked at her mirror making sure she looked good. She had to look her best; she wanted to impress Severus's parents. She wasn't quite sure why she wanted to make such a good impression on his parents, maybe she just didn't want to raise any suspicion.  
  
"Holly, ready?" Lily corrected her robes and looked into a mirror of her own, the same did Miranda.  
  
"No, I'm not sure I'll ever be..." Hermione was shaking quietly, she was so nervous.  
  
The Great Hall had been changed. Five rows of chairs had been lined up facing where the head table were supposed to be.  
  
The first row was for the parents with children in Hufflepuf with the Hufflepuf banner hanging neatly above. Second were for those in Ravenclaw, with the Ravenclaw banner above, then Gryffindor and Slytherin, with banners hanging above too, and the last row was where all the students sat.  
  
There were names tags on the chairs but Hermione couldn't find her chair.  
  
"Miss Raven," A voice said and Hermione turned to see Dumbledore.  
  
"Professor," Hermione said and walked over to them.  
  
"When professor McGonagall call your name, she will say "Raven, Holly Hermione, I've asked her to leave the Granger part out..." she exhaled heavily, "are you alright?"  
  
"Yes, a bit nervous but I'll manage... can't find my seat..."  
  
"You'll sit in front with the miss Evans and the other head and prefects, since you're going to make a speech and all..." he smiled joyfully to her, "How's it going with the speech? Is it done?"  
  
"Yeah, pretty much. Was quite difficult, it's not long or anything..."  
  
"That's all right, we're not supposed to be here all day," he chuckled lightly and Hermione did so too. "If you wish, you can stay at Hogwarts in the summer vacation, that is unless you have somewhere else to go?"  
  
Hermione told Dumbledore about her being a muggle and her relationship with Severus and then of course about Severus's parents, he agreed that it would be best not to tell about being a muggle...  
  
The ceremony started when everyone had taken his or her seats. Hermione sat next to Lily who gave her a nervous smile.  
  
"Could I have your attention, please?" McGonagall asked and the crowd became silent. "Before we begin I have a trophy to hand out and a student who has a speech prepared..." McGonagall cleared her throat and Hermione felt her insides turn on anxiety. "Miss Holly Hermione Raven has in one year, showed that she is the most brilliant mind ever attending Hogwarts. I am asking her to step forward and receive the Hogwarts trophy for her brilliance which has not been seen in many years!"  
  
People applauded and Lily looked at Hermione shocked, okay Hermione had failed to mention it... Hermione got up from her chair and took a deep breath before climbing the three stairs to get the trophy. She looked out on the applauding crowd and she could vaguely hear Sirius, James and Remus yell something. She blushed.  
  
"I believe miss Raven has a speech?" McGonagall stepped aside and Hermione put down the trophy next to the podium. She unfolded the paper while the crowd became silent. She took a deep breath.  
  
We all received a letter telling, that we had been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Some of us hadn't even heard of Hogwarts while others were fully aware of this world of magic, but nonetheless we arrived and became friends more or less.  
  
We arrived at Hogwarts with only a wand and some books and a few faint ideas of how it would be like. Look at us now.  
  
It has been an honour attending Hogwarts; it has been an honour being taught by the staff and it has been an honour meeting everyone.  
  
Some might say that this is the end. That this is the time when we go our separate ways into the great white world, to pursue our own private fortune. I say not. I hope that that the friendships we've collected through the years will last long, and do us good. This is not the end, but merely the beginning of a new journey, a new adventure. I hope that everyone will find fortune where they seek, that they have fun and gather true friendships like they did at Hogwarts.  
  
Thank you.  
  
The crowd applauded loudly again and Hermione saw her friends stand up cheering loudly. She shook professor McGonagalls hand and stepped down with her trophy to reclaim her seat.  
  
"Thank you for the lovely speech, miss Raven. When I call your names, you will come forward and receive your diploma," she paused for air. "Arren, Jeremy," the first boy got up from his chair and went to McGonagall shook her hand and went to Dumbledore who stood almost next to her, where he got his diploma. The boy went to the other end of the room where he stood silently awaiting for the next student.  
  
"Black, Sirius," McGonagall and Sirius stalked up to her and kissed her hand. Everyone laughed and then he did the same with Dumbledore. Hermione was almost falling of her chair of laughter.  
  
"Evans, Lily," Hermione gave Lily thumbs up before she headed off.  
  
The crowd was getting smaller for every person all of her friends were already on the other side. Finally, "Raven, Holly Hermione," Hermione got up and shook McGonagall hand and thanked her. Then she shook Dumbledores hand too and got her diploma.  
  
"THAT WAS SO DISGUSTING!" Lily whispered as Hermione reached her on the other side.  
  
"Yeah! At least you didn't have to make a speech, I was so nervous!" Hermione whispered back.  
  
"You got a trophy for being the brightest ever attending Hogwarts, that is so cool!" Hermione blushed.  
  
The crowds she was in was getting larger while the seats where the graduators sat was getting smaller and smaller.  
  
"Snape, Severus," McGonagall said and Hermione cheered out loud and her shy boyfriend walked up to McGonagall and shook her hand and then with Dumbledore. Hermione pulled him into the crowd of graduators and kissed him followed by a hug.  
  
"I am proudly to present you all as 1976 graduators!" McGonagall said out loud and the whole room cheered and the students threw their hats into the air.  
  
AN: Year she came to the 'past' in year 1975, but then new years eve changed it to 1976... 


	8. 8

**Eighth chap! – Standing back here alone  
**  
Hermione hugged everyone she met before meeting up with her friends, Severus had gone off to see his parents.  
  
"I can't believe we've graduated!" James said and hugged Lily who blushed. The little crowd of friends moved silently over to Lily's parents who were talking with professor McGonagall.  
  
"Mother," Lily said quietly and Lilys mother turned to see her. She hugged her while telling how proud she was of her daughter, Hermione bit her lip and tried to calm herself.  
  
"These are my friends, Miranda, Holly, Sirius, Peter, Remus and James, my boyfriend..." She giggled quietly and James pulled out his hand towards Lily's parents (kissed Mrs. Evans's hand). They had just finished shaking hands when Peter, Remus and Miranda's parents came over. They all talked and Hermione stood silently with Sirius.  
  
"So... this is interesting," she said as they both looked at their friends and their parents.

"Oh yeah," he said and gave her a short smile. Sirius knew James's parents very well, Hermione also remembered him telling that he used to stay with James in vacation because of the hate he had for his own family. Hermione caught Severus's eye; she nodded slightly to his silent request to join him.  
  
"If you'll excuse me, it was nice meeting you all..." Hermione bowed slightly towards her friends' parents.  
  
"Relax," Lily whispered before Hermione walked over to greet Severus and his parents.  
  
Her heart was pounding fast as she moved towards Severus and his parents. They were standing in the shadows, but Hermione could still see the face of his mother. She looked like Malfoys mother, complete snob and shallow. His father held his head up high while glancing around the room. He wore black robes in fine material and he had a cane. They looked utterly cold and uninviting.  
  
"Hello..." Hermione said nervously as she reached them. The two adults looked at her coldly before Severus spoke.  
  
"Mother, father, this is my... girlfriend through six months..." Severus said a bit guarded. The look on his parents face was precious. They looked at their son surprised and then looked back at Hermione.  
  
"You have a girlfriend?" Mrs. Snape asked dubiously and looked at her son who nodded slightly and flushed a dull red. "My name is Leonora Snape," she extended her hand gracefully towards Hermione who bowed slightly and accepted it. "Loki!" Mrs. Snape hissed at her husband.  
  
"Lokoja Snape," he said and gave her a short handshake.  
  
"My name is Raven, Holly Hermione Raven," Hermione smiled and Severus moved a bit closer to her. She wasn't quite sure how to handle Mr. Snape. Mrs. Snape seemed very welcoming towards her, but Mr. Snape was more coolly. Hermione remembered how Lucius Malfoy acted towards Draco, was he doing the same? Cursing Severus if humiliating him? No wonder why Snape was so strange in her own time, she suppressed a giggle by coughing lightly  
  
"Mr. And Mrs. Snape," a cheerful voice spoke and a scowl appeared of Mr. Snapes face immediately.  
  
"Albus," Mr. Snape greeted in an almost too friendly voice.  
  
"Glad you could come, how are you?" Dumbledore kept speaking in his cheerful voice not even noticing the daggers Mr. Snape sent him with his eyes. Hermione sighed mutely with a smile; Dumbledore was an odd person.  
  
"Fine," Mr. Snape sneered coldly without returning the question.  
  
"Miss Raven, I would like to talk to you about your staying at Hogwarts," Dumbledore turned towards Hermione kindly after a small pause.  
  
"Yes..." Hermione started out, but was cut off by Mrs. Snape.  
  
"You're not going home?" She asked almost sounding concerned but still with a hint of carelessness. Hermione blushed and felt a slight tremble running through her.  
  
"I am afraid that possibility is out of reach for me," Hermione said calm and turned towards Dumbledore again. Before she could open her mouth however Severus spoke.  
  
"Can she stay with us?" Severus asked and Hermione felt the urge to knock him over. She definitely didn't want to stay with them. Severus: Yes, parents: No way.  
  
"No, Severus, I can't... That's..."  
  
"Of course. As Severus's girlfriend you are most welcome. In fact, I insist..." Mrs. Snape cut her off. What she trying to be noble? Hermione tried to smile sincerely but was quite sure that she just looked ridicules.  
  
"Thank you kind of you..." Hermione said nervously and gazed at Dumbledore. She gazed him into the blue sea and let her mind wander for him to pick up.  
  
"I am afraid that it is not possible for you, miss Raven," Dumbledore spoke sadly, "I promised to take care of you so you'll have to stay here. You can of course visit the Snape family any time..." He added carefully.  
  
"Yes..." Hermione said pretending to be a bit sad about it.  
  
"Well, you are free to visit us..." Mrs. Snape said sweetly and looked at her dear husband.  
  
"Or maybe Severus can visit Hogwarts, I am quite sure there'll be more to do here then back home," was he trying to get rid of Severus? Hermione glanced quickly at Severus who was looking down the floor; she felt a twinge in her heart and looked pleadingly at Dumbledore.  
  
"Of course Mr. Snape can come and stay here too," he then said smiling and Severus looked up. Hermione wasn't quite sure how Severus felt. He seemed relived to be able to come back to Hogwarts during the vacation, less time with his parents, she thought. "I must be going, Mrs. and Mr. Snape, nice to see you again," he bowed lightly and swept away. Mrs. Snape found a female she knew and began chattering and Mr. Snape did the same with the females husband.  
  
"You've meet my dreadful parents," Severus drawled and smiled wryly.  
  
"Yes, very interesting," she smiled and took his hand and went for a walk with him. "Sorry I can't cheer you up while you're home," she apologized. She would love to stay with Snape in his home, just not with his parents around, she had a bad feeling about them.  
  
"That's okay, I'll manage..." He said with a sardonic voice and smiled.  
  
"We'll meet up every day, or at least every day..." Hermione promised.  
  
The evening processed and Severus and Hermione sat goodbye before Severus leaving with his parents. When everyone had gone home Hermione went to find Dumbledore.  
  
"Sir?" Hermione asked as she found him at the head table, he looked at her and smiled. "I just wanted to say thank you for letting me stay through the vacation. I will promise you that I won't get in the way of anyone," she looked at him truthfully.  
  
"Miss Granger," he said, they were the only ones around, "it is my pleasure. I've realised that I couldn't send you home with them. Between you and me..."  
  
"They are supporters of Voldemort," she finished his sentence and he nodded carefully.  
  
"I don't believe that they are... Death Eaters, at least not the parents..."  
  
"He has a brother..." Hermione was thinking out loud and Dumbledore nodded.  
  
"I am glad Severus got you, you are just what he needs. You are the person to save him from his parents claws..." Dumbledore let the conversation flow mutely. Hermione knew what he meant. Severus's parents would probably insist that he should become a Death Eater.  
  
"I will figure out soon what to do..." She bowed lightly and headed towards the private room she had gotten.  
  
ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
  
Two days after graduation Hermione sat at a small café with Severus talking.  
  
"Holly, will you marry me?" He suddenly asked and Hermione stopped talking. She looked into Severus's eyes.  
  
"Excuse me?" She asked stunned and was sure she had heard wrong.  
  
"Nothin'," he mumbled and took a sip of his tea.  
  
"Yes I will..." she said and he almost dropped the cup surprised by her answer.  
  
"Wha'?" He looked into her eyes.  
  
"I will marry you!" She shrieked and they both got up and kissed and hugged.  
  
"Here..." He pulled out a small box for her to open. It was the most gorgeous ring with beautiful diamonds around the edge. Hermione gasped and let some tears fall as he put it on her finger.  
  
ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
  
They decided to go separate ways for the rest of the day. Severus needed to tell his parents about it and Hermione needed to tell Dumbledore too. She was frankly quite careless about getting back to the future, she loved Severus and she would marry him.  
  
Hermione had gotten the password to his office of McGonagall and now she was knocking quietly on the great wooden door. "Come in," she heard him say and she quietly opened the door and slipped inside.  
  
"Miss Granger, I am glad you've stopped by, I have something to tell you," He smiled happily and gestured for her to sit down. He flicked his wand and tea and cookies, and lemon drops, appeared on the desk.  
  
"I've found a way for you to get home... Well almost. I am near to discover how to get you home safely..." Dumbledore respected her to smile, but instead Hermiones eyes filled with tears  
  
"Well, I have something quite important to tell you too..." she took a deep breath and let it out in one stream. "Severus has asked me to marry him, and I said yes. I've realised that I truly love him and I would love to become his wife. I am not sure how it will be when I return, but I know I can't return not having been his wife and companion... I am happy you've found a way for me to get home, but I am not ready to go home yet..."  
  
Dumbledore nodded understandingly before smiling greatly.  
  
"Miss Granger! That is fantastic!" He exclaimed excitedly, "When will the wedding be?"  
  
"We haven't talked about that yet. We're meeting tomorrow to discuss details and all that..."  
  
ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
  
The following morning around noon, Hermione met with Severus and went to sit at the café that they had attended the day before.  
  
They spend the rest of the day planning their future and making a guest list for the wedding.  
  
"You do know that my friends are sorry for how they've been towards you?" Hermione asked carefully, he snorted disbelievingly at her and took a deep breath. "Well, they are... I want them to come to the wedding, which friends do you want?" She looked at the paper in front of her. The names:  
  
Remus, Sirius, Lily, James, Miranda and Peter were listed.  
  
Severus snorted quietly again, he had no idea who to invite.  
  
"At least invite Lucius, I think he will appreciate it. I know he don't show that he cares about you as a friend, but you were in Slytherin, that says a lot," she giggled innocently and he let out a small laugh.  
  
"I guess you're right..."  
  
"The teachers," Hermione said and Severus shot her a surprised look. "You might not understand it know, but the teachers means a really lot to me..." she said quietly and he quirked and eyebrow.  
  
"Sure... My parents are asking when it's due..."  
  
"I don't know, any particular date?"  
  
"Soon as possible," he let out a laugh and Hermione giggled.  
  
"Next month?" She asked and laughed at his facial expression when she asked.  
  
"Um... sure... 11 of July?" He asked and she nodded acceptingly.  
  
They went for a quiet walk while talking about the wedding and guests and food. They got to the far end of Hogsmaede. There was a small creek along with a few houses. One of the pretty ruined, but Hermione and Severus both stopped when seeing it. They looked at each other and broke into a smile. They had just found their new home.  
  
They went closer for inspection. There was severe damage to the house; it was a bit old. It just needed to be fixed. It had a lovely garden, or so it would be when it was "tamed". It had two stores and, most of the windows were ruined. Hermione wondered why it hadn't been rebuild, it was such a lovely house.  
  
The same day Hermione and Severus went to the Hogsmaede office to ask about the house.  
  
"Hello... We've seen a house here in Hogsmaede, the one on Candis Creek, number 3," Severus looked at the wizard assisting them, he was going through some files.  
  
"Yes... yes..." he muttered and looked through some papers. Hermione noticed Severus getting impatient; she comfortingly laid a hand on his shoulder. "Yes, here it is..."  
  
"Is there anything wrong with it beside the visible damages?" She asked the wizard.  
  
"No, no. There is nothing wrong with it. Well except like you said, the visible damages."  
  
"Why haven't anyone bought it yet?" Severus asked a bit surprised that such a lovely house was gone unnoticed.  
  
"Well it is pretty expensive to repair, of course you could do it yourself..." Hermione and Severus nodded excitingly, that was exactly what they wanted to.  
  
"Can we buy it now?" Severus asked eagerly and held around Hermione.  
  
"I suppose so..." The wizard said a bit hesitative.  
  
"Good," Severus said. Hermione smiled, she had told him about her money so that they could both pay. Hermione had to demand to contribute to the paying and finally, after a long argument, Severus let her get it her way. Hermione didn't like just getting things received, she liked paying for her own things or at least help out. She felt so odd when Severus took her out for dinner and paying, she wasn't used to it.  
  
The house wasn't expensive at all, probably because of the state it was in. And so the day was spent with getting material to repair the house (that was the expensive part). Hermione and Severus left the material to repair the house, in the house. They had cast a blocking spell so that no one would steal it or was able to enter the ground of their property. Hermione told Dumbledore about the house and the ideas she had of being wed in the garden.  
  
"Is it the Minister who will be wedding me?" She asked quietly over dinner. She didn't want anyone to know about the wedding until they receive their invitations. "I've read in a wedding book I bought at the bookstore about those able to wed people... It seems that you are able to do it. Would you wed Severus and me? Professor? It would be such a great honour!" Hermione asked hopefully, some of the teachers looked over at her and she lowered her voice.  
  
"Miss Raven that would be my honour." Hermione and Dumbledore discussed very quietly the wedding. Hermione had asked it would be possible to use the name "Holly Hermione Raven," but write "Hermione Granger," in the wedding certificate. If he did so, she would promise to tell Severus her real name. Dumbledore thought about it for some moments. Telling her real name would be a bad idea for the future. If she did so, how would teachers react when she arrived on her first year to Hogwarts? So the two of them continued their conversation after dinner in Dumbledores office. Hermione told about the plans she and Severus had and she showed him the ring she had gotten.  
  
ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ. ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ .ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.ˆ.  
  
The following morning Hermione met up with Severus to eat breakfast with him, she told him that she had asked Dumbledore to wed them, that he had no complains about. After that they went through the damage papers of the house and then started on repairing the outer. There wasn't much to repair, some of the roof was missing but was soon fixed along with a whole in the wall, which was quickly repaired. Some of the water pipes were ruined, but Hermione and Severus replaced all the pipes with some new they had bought. Using magic made it all much easier. There were two bathrooms in the house and Hermione had gotten two new toilets and two new sinks along with a tub and a shower cabinet to put in instead of the old ruined that was there. The floor needed to be repaired too; it felt like snapping every time you walked around.  
  
Hermione asked if they could extend the kitchen a bit. She would like to have it look like the kitchen she had in her old house where she had lived with her parents. Then they went to get extra bricks to extend the kitchen. Hermione created cement with her wand and then they slowly and carefully extended the kitchen. Hermione used at least fifty spells to repair the kitchen tables that had already been there and make them look pretty. Severus was repairing what was damaged upstairs and Hermione yelled to him, that she was off to buy a sink to the kitchen and then asked if he needed anything. The material to build the house was bought in big store outside of Hogsmaede. Hermione found a reasonable sink to the kitchen, and then she shrank it and put it in her pocket. She also bought a kitchen table with four matching chairs (she thought only two chairs would look stupid).  
  
When she came back, Severus was standing outside along with two people, his parents. Hermione walked over to them.  
  
"Mr. Snape, Mrs. Snape," Hermione said carefully, she was really nervous around them.  
  
"Hello Holly," Mrs. Snape greeted warmly and Hermione smiled. She was quite sure the attitude would be different if they knew she was no pureblood.  
  
"Severus and you has bought a house, I'm sure it'll be lovely when finished..." Mrs. Snape said with a dubious voice. Hermione reckoned the woman would prefer paying people to fix things instead of doing it herself. It seemed Mr. And Mrs. Snape was unable to see the beauty about the house that Severus and her saw. She sighed but smiled. They probably preferred a castle where they could escape from each other.  
  
"Why don't you rest for the day? Severus tells me you've worked since ten this morning," Hermione smiled friendly and did no protest. "We can go for a walk, get something to eat while our two men can have a chat too..." Mrs. Snape said and Hermione nodded. Well, maybe she should learn to get to know her future mother in-law, she thought and did a quick cleaning spell.  
  
The two women said goodbye to their men, but not without Severus asking Hermione if she would be all right in the company of his mother, she assured that it couldn't be that difficult, Severus never responded.  
  
"So..." Hermione said as they went to a walk. "I guess we should get to know each other so you know what you're getting into," Hermione let out a small laugh and so did Mrs. Snape.  
  
"Holly, I must ask you about something, you might find it a bit... surprising..." they stopped and Hermione looked at the elder woman. "Are you... pureblood? It's okay if you're not..." Mrs. Snape assured. Hermione thought it was trick for her to tell the truth.  
  
"I am... Mother and father were wizards and so were their parents," she lied. She noticed Mrs. Snape quietly sighed relived.  
  
"What happened with them?" She asked curiously and Hermione lied one more time.  
  
"They were killed, in a muggle accident..." Hermione lied; she remembered the story Harry had been told by the Dursleys.  
  
"Yes, muggle transports are very dubious..." Mrs. Snape said coolly. "Now that you're going to marry my Severus, then I need to tell you a couple of things about the men in the Snape family," Hermione was quite surprised that Mrs. Snape wanted to share a secret with her.  
  
"The men in our family are men of pride and temper, you watch your step and nobody will get hurt..." Hermione gaped like a fish at her mother in-law. Nobody will get hurt? What did she mean by that? Was Severus the type who strokes a woman? No, he's not! Hermione told herself.  
  
"Mrs. Snape, I shall remember your advice and I thank you for given it to me," Hermione told as they took a seat at a small café.  
  
"Please Holly, call me Leonora, the same with Lokoja. We're almost family now," Mrs. Snape asked and receive the menu card from a waiter.  
  
The two women were chattering out late and it was almost nine when they got back to the house where Severus and father dear was waiting. Hermione suspected that they had been out for dinner too.  
  
Severus seemed relieved when the two women arrived; Hermione figured that Severus and his father wasn't the best to lead a conversation. But it was all right. Leonora had found out enough about Hermione to tell her husband, no worries there.  
  
"It's been nice seeing you, Leonora," Hermione said tasting her mother in- laws name on her lips.  
  
"You too," Leonora said kindly back. The two girls hugged lightly and Hermione, to much surprise of Severus and Leonora, Mr. Snape himself hugged Hermione lightly.  
  
"It was nice seeing you again Mr. Snape, Lokoja," Hermione said carefully testing. He gave her a small smile.  
  
"It was nice seeing you too, Holly," he replied. Hermione had played her part to perfection; nobody would be suspicious. She smiled and said goodbye. Severus and Hermione were going to spend the night together at Hogwarts. Hermione wondered as they walked up to the castle, if Leonora was ever going to show baby pictures of Severus. She seemed warmer towards Severus than Lokoja.  
  
"I was thinking that maybe tomorrow we could make the wedding invitations?" Hermione proposed. She had always dreamt of a great wedding, every girls dream and a beautiful wedding dress and breath-taking ceremony. However, though she wanted the wedding to be done to perfection, she also wished Severus to have something to say. She decided that they should take the decisions together so that the wedding became how they both wanted. It was a heavy decision, she was only planning on getting married once and the wedding should be the wedding of her dreams.  
  
But with Severus along, the wedding wouldn't be as the princess wedding she had in her head, but she didn't mind anymore, the point was that it was with the man of her dreams, her personal prince.  
  
That night they were really going crazy at it... in bed... ;-)  
  
_"Dear...  
  
The 11 of July at 11:00 am, the greatest wedding of the centuries will stand.  
  
The wedding between: Severus Snape & Holly Raven.  
  
It is our wish and hope that you come to our wedding and share the special day with us.  
  
We expect your answer before the eighth of July.  
  
Yours Sincerely  
  
Severus Snape & Holly Raven"  
_  
Hermione and Severus found the invitation simple and exact.  
  
"I can't wait," Severus told as they exited the post office after having all the invitations sent out. They walked hand in hand back to their new house. Severus and Hermione had made it look really pretty. The floors were decorated with beautiful rugs and Leonora had insisted on giving them an early wedding present (antique furniture's to the whole house), she liked the bed though. There were three bedrooms, one where Severus and Hermione slept in, and one was guest room and the last one was decorated into a storage room for wine and ingredients. There were three living rooms, one where you could relax in chairs and couches and one witch a table where they ate dinner. The last one, and biggest, was made into a library with two couches where you could sit and read.  
  
The walls were decorated in light colours. The bathrooms were cosy too. The first bathroom was with both tub and shower cabinet whilst the other only had a shower cabinet and, of course, a toilet and sink and so on.  
  
They had been together out buying service, glass, dishes, knifes, forks and spoons. Mr. Snape, Lokoja, had even offered them a house elf, which Severus had told wasn't needed – he knew Hermiones opinion about house elves!  
  
July month was upon them and everyone invited had accepted and was looking forward to the wedding. Hermione met up with Lily and Miranda while Severus was meeting with Lucius and two other guys whom Hermione was unsure who was, judging on their looks, it was Grabbe and Goyle. Hermione wasn't very surprised; she had never really taken a real look at the two of them, but thinking of it, why not? Everyone else's parents were there.  
  
"So... You're getting married..." Lily said a bit jealous.  
  
"You know, James will ask you soon, I am quite sure," Hermione told comforting as they walked out from the Leaky Cauldron to the streets of Diagon Alley.  
  
"Yeah, weddings is in the air, first Holly and Severus, I'm sure you'll be next..." Miranda said smiling sadly, she had still not found a boyfriend.  
  
"I hope so..." Lily frowned before stepping inside Madam Malkins, robes to every occasion.  
  
"Hello!" A voice cried out happily and followed her costumers further inside the shop. "Now, what can I do for you?" She asked pleasantly.  
  
"This lass here's getting married," Miranda said pointing at Hermione who blushed.  
  
"A WEDDING!" Madam Malkin shrieked excited, "How exciting, who's the lucky man?"  
  
"Can you help us? She needs to look better that ravishing!" Lily said helping Madam Malkin back on track.  
  
"Of course!" She smiled and dragged Hermione towards a room of mirrors and made her stand on a small stool. Then she began to take size of Hermione, every inch was sized. Madam Malkin brought out a great deal of white robes. Some were very fluffy and others not fluffy at all. Some were big and some small. Hermione told about what dress she wanted.  
  
"Long dress, but with a not too long train, she wanted her curves to be seen," she informed. "Not too fluffy, simple but elegant," she told. Finally after three hours in the shop Hermione had found the dress of her dreams. It was magnificent! It was a long silky dress with a small train. It was cut in a V from her neck and ended at her shoulder, showing half of her shoulders. She had no veil (wizard had no idea what it was), but she was given some small, enchanted, red flowers to put in her hair before the ceremony.  
  
Then the three girls headed to the hairdresser's to get an appointment for Friday the 11th July in the early morning. To her horror, they didn't open until eleven o'clock.  
  
"Listen, name a decent prize and I'll pay you for arriving at my home to help me out," Hermione pleaded. Hermione was getting snappier at people because of too many nerves. The hairdresser smiled politely and told that of course she would help out since it was her wedding day. The prize was decent and she promised to arrive at her house eight in the morning. Lily and Miranda ordered the full pack for Hermione. Before leaving, Hermione was given at least ten magazines to go through and get inspired to how she wanted her hair.  
  
"I won't last long," Hermione said and collapsed in a chair at a small café. Before she could stop herself she was crying hysterically. She didn't understand it; she had been through worse stress than this. She had worked her butt off in her third year, taking extra classes and all. Now she was just looking at dresses and shoes, why cry? She felt so stressed and thinking about life she only sobbed harder. Lily and Miranda were trying their best to comfort her, but they didn't understand. She had always believed that Harry and Ron would come to her wedding, but they weren't even born yet! She had always figured that Mrs. Weasley would be padding her gently on the back when that time came. She was expecting half of the guests to be red heads. But no, there would be no read heads. Hermione cried more. And her parents! They were supposed to be there but instead they were dead, or in this time, attending a dentist school or something. "Why is Severus even marrying me? I'm ugly and fat and ugly!" She cried into the arms of her friends. Lily and Miranda stared at each other by her outburst.  
  
"You know damn well that that's not true!" Miranda said and lifted Hermiones face from the table she had laid it on. All the crying swelled Hermione. She had no idea why she had asked why Severus was marrying her, it just seemed to blurt out of her.  
  
"I don't know why I said that..." she cried.


	9. 9

**Ninth chap. – THE WEDDING! WEEE!**

**AN: Short chap. It only involved the wedding...**

So the groom had been ordered not to come upstairs where Hermione was getting prepared.

The whole house had been neatly decorated with small bunches of flowers. The wedding was taking place in the garden; it was really lovely. Everything looked perfect, except the bride.

Hermione was for the seventh time, since her first breakdown, crying again. She was out of her state of bare nerves. She had been up since five o'clock and cried for at least two hours. Finally Lily and Miranda had made her stop crying. They had even gotten her to eat a bit. Then 15 past seven Hermione was taking a nice long bath.

"I should go see Severus!" Hermione said when she had stepped out of the shower.

"No way, bad luck!" Lily told. So the wizarding people believed it were bad luck to see the groom/bride before the wedding.

"Who cares, it can only get better..." Hermione said and tried to force her way through, but with no luck.

"You! Sit, relax!" Miranda ordered as Lily went outside to see if the hairdresser had arrived. Five minutes later Lily and the hairdresser arrived to the room where Hermione was crying, once more.

"She thought you didn't come, she's really nervous," Miranda told as they entered the room. Hermione brushed away the tears.

"You just relax miss Raven, I will make you look ravishing!" The hairdresser, Loraine, told her.

She was having all unwanted hair removed before slipping into her brides dress.

Loraine was really doing a great job on Hermiones hair and face. First she did her hair. It was put up in the most beautiful way, letting a few styled curls slip. Then she put on Hermione's makeup, simple but elegant. She really looked ravishing with a silver/white eyeshade and completely black eyelashes. She was powdered a bit paler and then a small bit of red powder of her cheeks. A completely red lipstick was put on, and as the last touch the red roses she had gotten from Madam Malkins. Hermione looked gorgeous. Nothing would go wrong; she looked ravishing.

The door opened lightly by Leonora to see how things progressed. Leonora gasped and told Hermione she looked smashing!

Lily and Miranda, who both had gotten ready while Hermione was being under the touch of Loraine, said goodbye and went outside to meet the James, Sirius and the rest. Hermione ordered Lily to tell Severus, for Hermione, that she loved him.

"Hey, before we go!" Miranda said and turned to Loraine. "Would you take a picture of Holly, Lily and me?" Loraine nodded as Lily and Miranda took a position on each side of Hermione.

Hermione, who had no father to give her away, had accepted when Dumbledore politely had told that he would not mind walking down the isle with her before he taking the position as priest.

Hermione went down stairs with Loraine where Dumbledore awaited. They were supposed to walk from the house and outside, through the garden entrance, when the band started to play. Hermione asked Loraine if she wished to stay, she did. She took a seat outside.

"Miss Granger, I must say you look beautiful," Dumbledore said and smiled brightly.

"Thank you, I am so nervous..." She said and looked into his blue eyes. The band started to play gently and Dumbledore and took her arm gently before the doors were opened. People got up from their seats and Dumbledore and Hermione walked silently and slowly towards the altar. Severus stood with his best man, Lucius, gaping at her. She couldn't help smiling by the sight of him. He was completely stunned. She let her eyes travel around and saw her friends standing on first row. They were smiling brightly at the sight of their friend.

What seemed like hours were actually only minutes and Hermione was now standing next to Severus. Dumbledore took his position in front of them and people took their seats.

"We are gathered her today to unite two special wizards in a holy matrimony. If anyone has any objections to why these two shouldn't be wed, speak now, or forever hold your peace," there was a pause and Hermione just wished her friends wouldn't do something stupid. She bit her lip carefully, she was quite sure that the whole Snape family had gotten up from their seats and was looking out over the crowds, making sure no objections were made. Just a thought, she smiled when Dumbledore went on.

... (Yadda, yadda, yadda...) Severus put on the ring on her finger and she put a ring on his finger too... "You may kiss your bride," Dumbledore finally said and... THEY KISSED! He swooped his arms around her waist and hers around his neck and then they kissed. Aw... it was the most passionate kiss ever and people cheered and clapped.

"I now pronounce you, Mr. And Mrs. Severus Snape!" Dumbledore said out loud and Hermione and Severus broke apart with a great smile.

And so the party began.

"Holly!" A voice said and Hermione turned to see Miranda. "Here," she gave Hermione a small gift that might be a book. "Open it later..." She gave Hermione a wicked smile, "congratulations," the two girls hugged tightly, "congratulations Severus, take care of her" she said hugged him, much to Severus's surprise, lightly.

"Thank you Mindy..." Hermione gave her a last hug before Miranda hurried off towards the alcoholic drinks.

Hermione and Severus danced the wedding dance and then pictures were taken and then the happy couple slipped off to spend their honeymoon, which was given as a gift from Dumbledore and Minerva, to Bahamas in a lovely suite near the water.

For the wedding night Hermione had a present from the two lovely girlfriends, a very expensive short nightgown with sexy matching trousers.

**Whoever said that sex was better when married, they were right! **


	10. 10

**Tenth chap. – Kiss me goodnight**

_AN: This isn't a very detailed chapter, just telling about Hermiones and Severus's lives after the honeymoon, but nonetheless it is important for the... plot? There's some sexual scenes further down, just some before moving on. It's nothing to freak out about though._

Hermione had chosen to go into Auror training and had been accepted on the Auror School. At the same time she was studying about the wizarding world so that she was able to work in the Ministry of Magic (she figured that would be for the best instead of teaching at Hogwarts, she didn't wasn't to mess with the future too much).

Severus was going to attend a school in the area Norfolk. Supposed to attend that school in three years and learn everything about potions and ingredients.

The summer vacation had almost ended when Hermione and Severus came back from their honeymoon. It was weird living as a couple, but they managed.

Then school started. Hermione cooked breakfast for Severus (he was going to Apperate to his school every day) and herself. They kissed goodbye and then Severus left.

Hermione looked around and collected all her supplies for her first day of school. She was going to meet James, Sirius, Remus and Lily at the entrance of the school. Lily had decided that since she had no idea what do, she might as well become an Auror instead of just spending her days doing nothing.

"HEY!" Lily screamed happily as Hermione appeared at their side.

"Hello!" Hermione said and hugged them all before headed towards the school.

The school was very small. Only a handpicked crowd was allowed in, those with the finest scores. It was a small school just outside of London; a great forest surrounded it.

The first months were quite rough; Hermione and the other Auror candidates had started out doing the theoretical part. It was the easiest about the classes. They were reading in every class, then questioned about what they'd read to see if it had sunk in. Hermione wasn't proud to admit it, but it was freaking boring. Reading about it was quite interesting, but knowing when you woke up in the morning, that you were going to read the entire day, THAT was exhausting.

Severus seemed to have a lot to do too. Hermione and Severus were both usually home around three in the afternoon. Then they would do their homework, and as the people they both were – go to the library for some extra materials just to be the best in class!

Around six thirty Hermione or Severus would cook dinner, depending on what day it was, and then they would rest unless they had some extra work to do.

Then just before the end of September Lily and James were going to be married. Hermione and Severus receive an invitation, which they accepted happily, or Hermione did.

The wedding was magnificent. Hermione was helping along with Miranda to make Lily look perfect. They hired the hairdresser, Loraine, who did Lilys hair. They also went to find a wedding dress; it didn't take long since Lily had already selected one when they had looked for a dress for Hermione. Lily looked absolutely beautiful.

Her beautiful red hair was being styled and put up in an elegant way.

The wedding was being held in their new home somewhere in a valley called Godric. It was an amazing reception. James was looking smashing. Sirius was standing at his right side, he was the first man and Hermione was sitting on the second row along with Remus, Peter, Miranda and of course her own husband, Severus. Lily's mother and sister were sitting on the left side of the isle and James's parents on the right side.

And so the band began to play and Lily walked down the isle along with her father who was giving her away. The priest that was going to wed them was the Minister of Magic, Maxwell Duris.

Lily and James took two weeks off from school to spend their honeymoon in Southern France.

After the wedding things were back to normal again. Severus and Hermione went to school every day, came home and did their homework, cooked dinner, relaxed, made sweet love and then fell asleep.

In the weekend Hermione met with her friends and Severus with his. Except those weekends that Leonora insisted on spending with her daughter in-law. It was actually the beginning of a beautiful, but false, friendship. Leonora who could be so kind, was completely manipulating Hermione into the dark world, Hermione didn't fall for it luckily, but then Hermione gave back sometimes letting Leonora win, just so that there would be no suspect.

Hermione was sometimes invited home to the Snape mansion where Leonora and Hermione spent the weekend talking and... knitting... and a lot of other things...

Hermione had learned how to behave in front of Leonora Snape, not to mention Lokoja Snape.

To Hermiones dread, she had to turn herself into a _woman_ before meeting up with Leonora. It wasn't as if she didn't look like a woman, she did, but she dressed in snobbish clothes just to please Leonora. It was tough to do, but Hermione knew that it was important. She couldn't drag any attention to herself, especially since she was now a Snape; she needed to keep low. Arise no suspicion to herself and her opinion about muggles.

Leonora and Hermione usually talked about hobbies and gossip. Hermione was invited to play tennis; it was actually a wizard who invented this game, Leonora told proudly. That was it. The game was okay. As long as it had a connection to the wizarding world, everything would be fine.

Leonora fancied Hermione, mostly because of the way she played her cards. Hermione loathed Leonora but pretended to like her. Severus knew how Hermione felt about his parents and he even tried to tell his mother to let them be alone, but with no luck. Hermione often thought of what Leonora had told her that summer before her wedding with Severus. The men in the Snape family were full of pride and temper, more like Leonora was of pride and temper. She was very insisting and insisted on spending at least one weekend a month with Hermione.

Hermione had never seen Lokoja Snape mad; he was very "sweet", but also extremely busy.

Severus knew that Hermione was pretending to like his mother; he always liked watching them meet up. The way Hermione behaved, it was a sight for the gods.

The first day of the weekend they were going to spend together, Friday, was spent on playing tennis.

Hermione played tennis every time she met up with Leonora and every time she failed to win. She hated the fucked up screwed game. But, as the good daughter in-law, she pretended she loved it.

Then after playing tennis the two women headed for shower before meeting at the pool in swimsuits. Then they would chat.

"I just _love_ your bikini!" Leonora told as she went in the water. Hermione smiled sweetly and thanked her.

Saturday was spent on chatting some more and sipping tea by the pool. Then they some times went for a walk or went to shop. Leonora was a complete power shopper - it was dreadful. Leonora also took Hermione to a SPA where they got massage and took steam baths. They got manicure, pedicure, and whatever. In the end of the day they would go to a restaurant where they ate a lovely dinner with an exquisite wine.

Sunday was spent on just chatting while drinking some more tea and then they would say goodbye.

After saying goodbye, Hermione would have three weekends off, before meeting with Leonora again. Then they would meet up and do what they did every weekend.

Sigh...

"So, Holly. How's school?" Leonora asked after their usual tennis match. They had just slipped into the pool when she asked.

"Oh, the usual. It is quite interesting. I've been looking for some challenges for a while, this is really challenging," Leonora smiled vaguely, Hermione knew she didn't like Hermione to become an Auror, in fact, she didn't like Hermione to get an education at all.

"You are really something Holly, you know that?" Leonora chuckled lightly as they swam to the other end. "I still don't understand why you would want an _education_, you should stay home and relax while Severus takes care of you. You know, I've raised him to take care of his lady, but you want to work..." Hermione sighed. They had had that conversation so many times before.

Hermione would never in her wildest imagination wish to just sit home and do nothing except spit out babies. No, she wanted to work and Leonora couldn't understand that. Leonora was never doing anything; Hermione doubted she had ever in her life lifted a finger. She was spending her time on treating herself like a goddess while her husband dear was working and earning the money.

"Well, tomorrow a friend of mine is throwing a banquet, I promised we would show up..." Leonora said when Hermione never responded on her last comment. Hermione nearly swallowed some of the pool water.

"Wha'?" She gasped and coughed lightly.

"Yes, it'll be so much fun!" Leonora exclaimed excited at they got up from the pool. No way in hell Hermione would spend a day with more hags. She was already seeing enough of Leonora, no more. Besides, she had to keep low. If Leonora were presenting her to all her friends, well, they most likely would know somebody... inappropriate... She was supposed to keep low...

That night Hermione took a decision. The future would only be different if, she tried too much to prevent it from changing. How could she know that she wouldn't change the future by not going tomorrow? Maybe she should just let things happen and agree on things. So she did.

Leonora took Hermione to the SPA a bit earlier than usual. Then they went to buy some clothes for Hermione, it was bought in a fashion store for very, very rich people. Leonora found the cutest outfit for Hermione, cute, yeah! She looked older and very, very, very, very snobbish! Her hair was put up in a very tight knot and she got on a blood-red lipstick. The outfit was in pale grey with matching shoes with a buckle on each shoe of what looked like silver. The outfit was a gift from Leonora, like the many other outfits she had bought for Hermione. For _fun_, Leonora bought a matching outfit to wear for the night. Hermione giggled pretending to like the idea of looking like Leonora.

"Are you still studying about the wizarding world, dear?" Leonora asked, as they got ready for leaving.

"Yes," Hermione told and picked up her matching hand purse.

"Well, most of my friends might ask you about what you're spending your time on, just say that, don't mention the Auror part... They are not as tolerant as I am," she showed Hermione where to Apperate to and then they disapperated.

For a second Hermione was about to Apperate home, but thought it too cruel.

"Hello!" Leonora said and kissed an elderly woman airily.

"Leonora, it is so nice to see you again," the woman said, who was probably the host. She moved a bit for them to step inside the great mansion.

"This is my daughter in-law, Holly," Leonora said and pushed Hermione lightly towards the host.

"Hello," Hermione said politely and did as Leonora had did, hugged her lightly along with an airily kiss on the cheeks.

"So nice to see you Holly! Leonora's told so much about you! I am Abigail," she smiled greatly and tittered along with Leonora. Hermione let out a fake titter as they headed towards the other guest. Gods help me! Hermione thought, these were only old hags!

"This is Holly, Leonora's daughter in-law!" Abigail told out loud and Hermione then spent the following ten minutes hugging everyone.

"Holly, what are you doing these days?" One of the women, called Amelia Christoff, asked.

"Nothing much, just studying about the wizarding world when I can..." She answered and took a seat at the great table. Leonora was sitting some chairs away and was smirking to her happily.

"Are you studying in school about it?" She then asked and Hermione dragged her gaze away from her mother in-law and looked at the witch next to her.

"No, it is merely an occupation so that I won't get too bored," Hermione almost lied and giggled snobbishly with the witch. She did not study it in school, that was truth, but she didn't study it so that she wouldn't get bored. She figured that she should leave out that part of her wanting to become a ministry member. This was a nightmare. Hermione felt like throwing off her shoes and run.

The night proceeded and Hermione got to talk with almost everyone.

"Have you talked with Mrs. Eldman yet?" A witch called Sara asked and looked around carefully.

"No, I don't believe I have..." Hermione was surprised to hear that Sara started to insult Mrs. Eldman behind her back. It seemed that this was what the women did. They talked about people behind their backs. Who would ever want to be friend with such a person? Hermione thought before she was led on over to another witch by Leonora. Hermione listened carefully to her surroundings, they were gossiping and the witch Hermione was standing with in the moment was talking evilly about some woman called "Mattie Silver." Hermione sighed, what a bunch of stupid women. They had no occupation except meet and boast about their lives and families. Hermione saw the witch called Sara talking with the witch she had just moments ago insulted behind her back. They were laughing sweetly and talking, she sighed; this was too far out.

Finally Leonora and Hermione sad goodbye and disapperated home to the Snape mansion.

Hermione said goodnight and took herself to her private dorm in the mansion.

It had been an exhausted night with all Leonora's 'friends', she could now rest, and tomorrow she would be able to get home to Severus.

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It was a sad morning, the sky was cloudy, and it was raining.

Hermione sat with Leonora in the living room drinking tea and reading. That was what Mrs. Snape did much, reading. Not books of knowledge, but wizarding literature.

Every Sunday afternoon, around an hour after lunch, Hermione left the Snape mansion. And so she did this time too. She gave her mother in-law a polite hug with an airily kiss and then disapperated off.

Hermione appeared just outside of her house, she smiled; she was home.

"Hey sweetheart," Severus said from somewhere in the house as she slammed the door.

"Hi..." She answered and put down her bag and went to find him. He was in the living room with Lucius. Lucius had really warmed up after her talk with him. He had become friendlier towards Severus and they were spending much time together. Hermione sometimes let him stay for dinner.

"Lucius," she said and smiled politely, he wasn't that bad... until you really got to know him and Hermione made sure she wouldn't.

"Holly," he said and bowed his head slightly towards her. Severus got up and kissed his wife.

"Had a nice weekend?" He asked and pulled out a chair for her to sit. Hermione never talked bad about Severus's parents unless they were alone, in front of others she would pretend to like them.

"Yes, very much. Mother dear took be to a dinner party to meet all her friends, and I've received another outfit from her," Hermione smiled lovingly to her husband who struggled not to laugh. As he was well aware of her opinion of his mother, he could only imagine her reaction when she was going to meet ten more _lovely_ women of the character like his mother. "Are you having dinner with Severus and me tonight?" Hermione asked Lucius politely.

"No, I have a date..." he sent a wry smile. It was really a pity. It suited both men to smile, but when they grew up, their smiles would be more restrained and coolly.

"With who?" She asked surprised but quickly smiled so that it wouldn't sound that surprising.

"Narcissa Black," he said shortly. Hermione looked up, she remembered something, from Grimaulds Place. A tapestry. With threads of gold or silver linking every person on it. A family tree with a million names... Narcissa... Almost every pureblood family are related somehow... She was Sirius's cousin, far out, along with Bellatrix...

"Yes, I think I remember her..." Hermione said thoughtful, Narcissa was on her seventh year too when Hermione came to the past; she hadn't talked with her really. She just remembered her from some potion classes. "Well I wish you luck," Hermione smiled and got up from her chair. "Darling, I'll be in the library. Lucius," she made a small curtsy towards him before leaving the room.

"Mrs. Snape..." A silky voice said behind her. Hermione closed her eyes and let the sensation of her husbands voice caress her. She felt his breath close to her face before he kissed her gently. She opened her eyes once he had retreated from her lips. She got up from her chair and stood right in front of him, their eyes never left each other's.

He kissed her neck slowly and unzipped Hermiones dress and let it fall to the ground. Hermione let her fingers run along his robes before taking it off of him. Naked they were, standing in front of each other. Severus lifted her from her floor and put her up against a bookshelf.

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It had been some tough months for Hermione. At first it had just been a light cough, but later it turned into something deeper and Hermione was put in St. Mungos for treatment. The antidotes she received to make her better, didn't work. She had caught a cold and it wasn't easy to cure. She had gotten better though. The winter was almost ending; maybe that was why she was feeling better?

The first week of illness she had showed signs of recovering. The doctors thought she was a cure until she stood up and collapsed. She was so dizzy. As the Christmas approached the cold only got worse, Hermione was visited by all of her friends, and Lokoja and Leonora visited her too. Severus never left her side and every single night he stayed and kissed her goodnight.

New years eve was boring, Hermione had requested for Severus to go out and have fun, he had refused and then she had screamed and it ended with Severus had to do as she wished. She didn't want him to stay by her side, she would be okay, he should have fun!

The New Year was approaching and Hermione celebrated it with one of the nurses she had gotten friendly with. Healer Brones. She was a great nurse and she was really sweet and helpful. The two of them sipped a cup of tea when the clock rang midnight, 1977. She had arrived in 1975, she sighed but smiled as the two cups clinked together. Healer Brones, who had requested to be called Sally, smiled.

Even though she was sick and admitted at St. Mungos, Hermione had ordered the Auror School to send her homework to her. Dumbledore had dropped by too to see how she was doing. They had talked a lot. He was still searching for way for her to get home, he was so close, but there was something missing that he couldn't figure out what was.

Then, one day, the sun was shining. Hermione almost felt her strengths come back as the sun lit through the clouds in the days of the fast approaching spring.

"Can I get you anything my love?" Severus asked as he checked how she was doing. She was sitting in the "library", reading.

"You know, I am cured, I am strong enough to get it myself... though I wouldn't mind a kiss from my beloved husband..." she smiled innocently. They kissed and he took a seat on the couch next to her.

"I love you," he whispered and kissed her gently one more time. She lay down on the couch using him as a pillow. He played with her hair gently.

"I love you too..."

"You shouldn't study so much," he looked down at her pretty face; she was smiling sweetly like she always did. The only person he had ever known who always has smiled, was Dumbledore, Hermione was the second he knew who never stopped smiling.

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Hermione was meeting with Leonora very weekend again. The summer drew nearer and soon Hermione and Severus were off to their second honeymoon. They went to Hawaii where they danced together in the summer nights. More pictures were taken of the happy couple to add in their picture book.

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It had been a lovely honeymoon, but they had to get back. School was starting.

Hermione went through some pictures one weekend before Lily and Miranda would arrive.

The gift Miranda had given her had been a picture book. The pictures were from their seventh year. There was one with Severus and Hermione dancing, they couple kissed and smiled. Then there were one with Lily, Miranda and herself, waving furiously and giggling mutely. There were one with Remus, Sirius, James and Peter and then the last one, James held around Lily and Remus and Hermione who had an arm around each other's waist, Sirius and Peter. They were all smiling on the picture and laughing.

Hermione remembered when those pictures had been taken. It was at the Yule ball. She couldn't remember them taking a picture of Severus and her dancing, they had probably just taken it without them noticing. She remembered clearly as Hermione, Lily and Miranda took the picture of the boys and she remembered James taking a picture of Lily, Miranda and herself. Then they had asked professor McGonagall to take the picture where they were all in. Come to think about it, where was Severus? She shook her head; she remembered that he had wandered off with some friends for some minutes...

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Hermione graduated with flair the third of June 1979. She was now, an Auror.

Hermione had gotten sicker and sicker since she had been admitted at St. Mungos only few times. But, she did her best to prevent Severus from noticing. She had talked with Dumbledore and found out why it was she was weakening.

She wasn't meant to live in the past. If she didn't go home, sooner or later she would die.

But Hermione refused to leave Severus just yet. She was taking medicine twice a day to keep up her strengths and she was doing great in school. She loved Severus; she couldn't leave him. Not now. He was so happy; she couldn't ruin it.

Severus was staying at his school; he was graduating too and really needed to be close to a good library. The school library was really good.

Hermione prepared a great dinner that night to celebrate her graduation along with her friends. Miranda and Peter were the only two attending the dinner that wasn't Aurors. Hermione had invited all the students and the teachers, there was only twenty-five students or so and then the teachers and Miranda and Peter. Lily and Miranda had used the day on preparing the feast; it was magnificent!

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Severus returned home after a stressing exam. Hermione prepared a nice dinner for him and some friends so he too could celebrate.

The little party ended at three in the morning. Hermione had met a lot of his new friends from his school; Hermione had asked, before the party, if he wanted to invite his professors. He didn't but she invited them anyway. And it seemed a good idea too. Severus had never thought his professors could be fun, but after a couple of drink they were all in a jolly good mood.

Hermione woke up ten in the morning; Severus lay next to her. He was awake and looking at her.

"Do you ever sleep?" Hermione grinned quietly and tugged into his arms. She had only few times been awake while he was sleeping; otherwise he seemed to be awake all the time. Even when she woke up at night she would look at him and see him rise asking what's the matter. Funny man him Severus Snape. Maybe he slept lightly, woke easily. Bummer.

So the summer was upon them and Hermione and Severus went to their third honeymoon, in France. On that honeymoon something terrible happened... or fantastic...


	11. 11

**Eleventh chap. – Loosing everything **

_So the summer was upon them and Hermione and Severus went to their third honeymoon, in France. On that honeymoon, something terrible happened... or fantastic..._

Severus Snape pressed his loving wife into his embrace, it was hot, they were hot, but they didn't want to move away from each other. They had just made sweet love in the early hours of the day.

* * *

It was October month and Hermione was freaking out. She was walking around in the whole house while thinking like a maniac about what to do. Severus had gone to see Lucius along with some friends, so she had the entire house by herself. She was sick; Hermione knew it as a fact. She was weak and she would not last a pregnancy. "Hey, I'm not even sure I'm pregnant, just a bit late, that's all, two months late," Hermione calmed herself down. She had taken a, some, pregnancy tests and had to wait five minutes before checking the result. It was driving her crazy.

Finally the timer Hermione had conjured rang, and Hermione practically flew up the stairs and into the bathroom. She stood in the doorway, what if she was? What if she wasn't? She took a step closer to the bathroom table where the pregnancy tests were lying. She had taken seven tests, just to be sure. The first one... Hermione gasped, it said she was pregnant, so did the followings! They all said she was pregnant! She began to cry, what was she going to do? She wouldn't be able to keep the baby. She was too weak. Every winter was weakening her more and more, being pregnant while going through the next winter, the baby would never survive and maybe she wouldn't either.

"YES I WILL!" Hermione cried out loud and got up from the bathroom floor, which she had collapsed on. She went to the fireplace in her living room, "Albus Dumbledore!" She said out loud and she saw Albus Dumbledore sitting at his desk.

"Albus!" Hermione cried, they had been on first names since her wedding.

"Holly!" He hurried over to the fire where he face was in the hearth of. "What's wrong?"

"Can I stop by?" She asked while the tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Of course!" He told and a small pop was heard and her face was gone. A second later she stumbled out of his fire. "Sit down," he followed her over a chair where she could sit. "What is wrong Hermione?" He asked quietly looking into her eyes.

"I- I'm pregnant..." She cried and tugged herself into his arms. "I will loose it... It won't survive the winter, I'm getting weaker every winter!" He padded her on her back gently. "I- I don't want to loose it... I can't tell Severus, he'll demand an explanation...!" She cried even harder again. "I can feel it, I am not even sure I'll last through the winter... I need to tell Severus something, I wish I could tell him the truth, but I know if I do, he won't do what he is meant to do, and that will effect the future...!" Hermione gasped for air, her eyes were all puffy from crying. Severus Snape needed to become a Death Eater when Hermione left; he would then cross over to Dumbledore and spy. If she stayed that would never happen... This is cannot be changed, Hermione thought while crying in Albus's arms. "I can take it with me to the future?" She asked hopefully but knew what the answer was. It wasn't meant to be in that time.

She was already weak from knowing that she was pregnant. October month was soon ending and November would be upon them all. Snow would fall and Hermione would have no hiding for the silent illness that was coming for her every winter and take away her strengths. Lily was pregnant too, she just wanted to live and be pregnant. Walk around and look for baby cloths along with a pregnant Lily. She cried. She wasn't ready. Though she had prepared for this parting with Severus since she fell in love with him, it was still too difficult.

"He'll try and stop me... Even if I say it... I can't... I can't... I have no strengths to keep up a discussion about it... it might change the future, he needs to do certain things..." Hermione told herself rather than Albus.

"Hermione, I wished that there was another way..." Dumbledore said and Hermione cried out loud in pain and fell down from her chair. She lay in cramps almost screamed. She grasped for her belly and cried. Dumbledore swept her up from the floor and hurried to the fireplace. She vaguely heard him say, "Hospital wing, Hogwarts!"

"No! I don't want to loose it!" Hermione half screamed before she was unconscious.

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Hermione woke up what seemed days later, but it was only six hours later.

"I have lost it?" She asked in a weak voice. Dumbledore was standing next to the window looking out. He sighed and turned towards her. "No..." She whimpered and put her hands across her face. She let them fall tiredly. She was so tired.

"How are you?"

"I'm tired... I can't..." she cried.

"Hermione, it's time... You know how to get home, you need to survive..." Dumbledore told and Hermiones eyes filled with tears. She nodded and cried.

"Almost... I came here just after full moon, to get home I need to do it before full moon, today, soon..." she cried quietly, "Severus can't know, I am too tired, you can't tell him where I've gone, he'll know when he sees me again..." She said and looked at him. "Can you do me a favour?" She asked in a quiet voice. He nodded. "I need to write a short note..."

Dumbledore flicked his wand and a piece of paper and a quill.

Severus, I love you so much, I'll see you again, promise.

_Stay in the light..._

_Holly_

Hermione wrote down weakly and handed it to Dumbledore, "will you send it to our house for him to find? In the one of the closets in the bedroom, the purse and a picture book in light blue, will you give it to me in the future?" Hermione cried again. She felt so exhausted; she had just lost her child. She let her hands slide over the lower part of her belly.

"I promise you I will and yes I'll give it to you in the future..." Dumbledore promised her and flicked his wand again. A small potion appeared in a bottle. "Hermione, you know you have to..." He whispered quietly. Hermione nodded and accepted the bottle. "I..." she said sobbing. Dumbledore came to her side and hugged her. "You will survive," he stepped away from her and watched her. She took a deep breath and cast a last glance at Dumbledore, tears slipped down her cheeks and then she bottomed it.

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There was a loud crash and Hermione dumped from the sky and into a room, a table. She lay on the ground for what seemed hours, she was so tired and a part of her was hurting, was it her legs? She wasn't sure. She had to get up, "get up," she commanded herself, but just talking made her feel like going into a doze.

The girl got up after an hour later or what seemed so. She stumbled and grabbed a table so she wouldn't fall. It was dark.

She stumbled towards the wall searching for the door; it was heavy to open. She got outside of the room; she was in the dungeons. A few torches were sending a dim light around the corridor.

Hermione managed to take two steps before falling to the ground. "Sev... Severus! Help!" She cried out, he couldn't be asleep. It was dinnertime. He was at dinner. "I have to get to the Great Hall!" She used the wall to get up, she was shaking badly and she was crying more and more for every breath. "Somebody," she tried to call out, by her words were merely a whisper. "Don't leave me," she rambled, she wasn't sure who or what she was talking about, she just felt like she didn't want to be alone. But that was what she was, alone, in the dungeons and fully aware that the staircase leading to the upper regions would be too tough to climb.

"HELP!" She cried out as loud as she could, using her strengths, but the door at the end of the staircase was blocking her cry for help. She fell to the floor nearly unconscious.

Somebody was picking her up from the floor; she could feel it. She was too tired to open her eyes. She muttered something that was too low to be understood as the person carrying her climbed the staircase up from the dungeons.

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He had been at dinner, Dumbledore had spoken to him but he barely heard what was told. He just wanted to disappear. He rose from his chair and headed towards the exit of the Great Hall with his robes billowing around him madly.

He opened the door leading to the dungeons and went down there. He stopped breathlessly as he saw a shadow lying on the cold and solid ground. He ran over to her and turned her head up with his hand, the dim light cast a dull shade onto her face. Holly! Hermione!

Snape picked her up from the floor, she muttered something he couldn't make out what was. He had to get her to Dumbledore! He hurried up the staircase and towards the Great Hall. Without even thinking about whether or not it was a good idea to reveal the fragile girl in his arms for the entire school this early, he flung opened the door and every single student and teacher shut up and gasped looking at the evil Potion master with what looked like a dead, or at least very, very unconscious, Hermione.

Dumbledore stood up right away and so did Harry and Ron.

"HERMIONE!" Ron and Harry yelled and ran towards her but what stopped by Dumbledore.

"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, not now!" Dumbledore said and hurried over to Snape. Ron and Harry stiffened and just looked at McGonagall, Dumbledore and Snape leave the Great Hall.

The murmur broke out.

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"She's still alive, Albus," Madam Pomfrey informed. Snape was pacing back and forth in front of the bed that she lay in.

"Good, good, she's been through a lot!" Dumbledore told and turned towards Snape.

"Been through a lot? Huh? BEEN THROUGH A LOT!" Snape yelled furiously! "She's been through nothing!" He yelled again.

"PROFESSOR SNAPE!" Madam Pomfrey bellowed furiously, "Keep quiet or leave!" She pointed towards the door.

"Poppy, when do you think she'll wake up?" Dumbledore asked.

"Tomorrow, if we're lucky..." Madam Pomfrey told, "I don't understand Albus, what is going on with miss Granger? Why is she looking older?"

"Miss Granger has been in the future for a very long time..." Dumbledore looked at Hermione, she was indeed looking older, not much, just a bit.

"She was only gone for four weeks!" Madam Pomfrey told confused.

"Four weeks, one week for one year in the past..." Dumbledore muttered and Madam Pomfrey gasped. "Don't let anyone in, Severus, Minerva, come with me..." Dumbledore went to his office with Severus and Minerva.

"What the hell is going on? Four years?" Snape asked dubiously.

"Severus, use your brain! You've been married to her!"

"How many knew that she had gone to the past? I didn't!" He was furious; he paced around in Dumbledore office causing many pictures to stare at him.

"SEVERUS! Don't you think everyone has thought about it since they first time laid eyes upon her?" Minerva yelled furiously. "Seen her in both times? Think about it! Sometimes you surprise me asking such stupid questions!" Snape sent her a cold glare. "You're not the only one she left without telling," Minerva said in a more friendly voice.

"SHE SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME THE TRUTH! I AM HER GOD DAMN HUSBAND!" Snape yelled before letting his fist collide with Dumbledores desk.

"I KNOW DAMN WELL SHE'S YOUR WIFE! HAVE IT EVER OCCURRED TO YOU THAT SHE HAD A REASON FOR LEAVING?" Minerva yelled back.

"SEVERUS, MINERVA!" Dumbledore warned and both teachers turned to Dumbledore surprised as if they had forgotten he was there.

"I just want to know the truth! For seven damn years I've wanted to know the truth!" Snape craved and walked around again. He let both his hands slide through his hair while he breathed out exhausted.

"You will know the truth when she wakes up," Dumbledore informed calming.

"Why can't you tell it to me?" Snape turned around facing both Minerva and Albus.

"It is not my job to tell you," the old wizard sighed deeply and took a seat in his chair.

"Well that's not good enough!" Snape sneered coldly and flung the door open and left. Minerva glared towards the door and then at Dumbledore. She seemed speechless.

"See you tomorrow at breakfast, Albus," she said in a friendly voice and left too.

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Hermione woke up with a light headache. She looked around in, she was in the hospital wing. Her lip began to wobble and she burst into tears while clutching her hands to the lower of her belly. Madam Pomfrey heard the cry and hurried over to her.

"Miss Granger!" She said and held around the shaking girl.

"I'm sorry," she cried even harder.

"Miss Granger, don't think about it, you just try it out of your system..." Madam Pomfrey told. Hermione looked up, she was sorry for loosing her baby, for loosing Severus's baby.

"I need air..." She cried and stumbled out of bed even though Madam Pomfrey tried her best to keep her in. She went over to the window shakily, it was summer, she didn't understand. Had she been unconscious for months?

"When did I get here?" She asked as Madam Pomfrey got her back to the bed.

"Yesterday, you've only been gone for four weeks..." Hermione nearly collapsed.

"What?!" She asked incredulously, "How is that possible?"

"Well, I'm not quite sure, Dumbledore said something about one week for one year in the past..." Hermione stopped.

"I need to see Albus..." She cried.

"I am here," a relaxed voice said and both Hermione and Madam Pomfrey turned their heads surprised towards the door. "Hermione..." Dumbledore said and walked over to her, Madam Pomfrey seemed bewildered by them using each other's first name.

"Albus!" Hermione cried and leaned into his embrace.

"It was only yesterday I lost it..." Hermione cried into his arms.

"I know Hermione," he whispered sadly, "Severus needs to know, he's furious..."

"With good reason!" She snorted and wiped her face with a handkerchief that Dumbledore gave her.

"So you're actually letting me in on what's going on?" A cold voice said and Dumbledore immediately sent him a very cold glare. He didn't care.

Dumbledore and Hermione broke apart.

"Why don't we go to my office?" Dumbledore asked, he considered floo powder, but seeing the state Hermione was in, that you be too demanding for her. She could end up anywhere. Severus would have to carry her when using the floo. "Severus, would you mind helping her to get to my office, carry her and take the floo," that was not a question, that was an order. Snape stood motionless for some seconds before lifting Hermione off the ground. Dumbledore threw the floo powder in the fireplace for them, "Albus Dumbledores office, Hogwarts!" Severus said and felt the disgusting sensation as they took off from the ground. Some seconds after he dumped into Dumbledore fireplace and walked out. He put down Hermione and sat her in a chair just as Dumbledore stepped out of his fireplace.

"Well?" Severus asked impatiently looking from Hermione to Dumbledore and then Hermione again.

"Here..." Dumbledore gave Hermione a small tablet to freshen her up a bit. It seemed to work.

"He deserves to know," Dumbledore said and took a seat in his chair behind his desk.

"Please sit," Hermione requested.

"I think I decide that for myself!" Severus sneered at her. Hermiones lower lip wobbled but she restrained herself from crying.

"Fine!" She spat coldly and took a deep breath. "It started out..." Hermione told the story down to its very least.

"I loved you, I didn't want to leave, so I stayed..." she told and then she told about her getting weaker. "You were meeting with Lucius and some friends..." Hermione burst into tears. Severus had taken a seat five minutes into the story, he was completely out of place.

"I was late, two months..." She said wiping away some tears.

"Late?" Severus questioned and Hermione stopped the story. "What do you mean?"

"Late... Over time..." she said but he still didn't understand, she gasped for air, "I was pregnant!" She cried and burrowed her face in her hands. Severus almost stopped breathing and looked at Hermione with wide eyes.


	12. 12

**CHAPTER Twelve**

"Late... Over time..." she said but he still didn't understand, she gasped for air, "I was pregnant!" She cried and burrowed her face in her hands. Severus almost stopped breathing and looked at Hermione with wide eyes. She had been pregnant... with his child. A child... His mind stopped completely.

"I was pregnant..." she cried again, "I told Albus and then I tried to figure out what to do. The baby would die no matter what. I wouldn't be able to bring it with me to the future, nor would it be able to survive the winter, I was getting so weak, I wouldn't even survive the winter..." Hermione tried to steady her voice, but with no luck whatsoever. "We sat discussing what to do, when I felt cramps... It just happened!" Hermione cried apologising, "I didn't want to loose it!" She tried to steady herself again, "I wouldn't survive another month, it was now or never. I wrote you a letter..."

"A letter? You wrote me two lines!" Severus spoke, getting out of his emotional child-distress.

"I wrote you enough to make sure you understood things!" She yelled back.

"You wrote that we would meet again! I thought you meant a month later, not 12 years later! How do you think I felt hen I saw you at the welcome ceremony? Your hair was bushy and you were 11 years old! Then I had to wait until your seventh year! You started at Hogwarts in the 'past' in our seventh year! I had to wait for anything to happen! Then it finally did happen and I thought you'd be gone for four years because you had stayed in the 'past' for four years! You were gone for four weeks! I found you! You don't have clue what it did to me!" Snape got up and paced frustrated around.

"You think it was easy for me? I had just lost my baby! OUR BABY! When I woke up I had to go with no time to grieve!" Hermione yelled and got up. She felt dizzy right away but Severus caught her. She had been pregnant. He held her close letting a tear slip unnoticed. Hermione held around him while crying. He was completely baffled about the situation.

"I am so sorry! I wished I could have told you! I wished for it so many times!" Hermione cried.

"Miss Granger," Severus said before stopping himself. Hermione leaped back from him looking at him frightened. She looked at Dumbledore who looked surprised at Severus.

"I AM YOUR WIFE!" She yelled and let her hands slip through her hair in confusion just as Severus had done earlier.

"I HAVEN'T HAD A WIFE FOR 19 YEARS!" Snape yelled back and Hermione cried once again. "I am not even sure what to call you! Your name isn't Holly or Hermione, Granger or Raven," he said coldly. "We're not even married, you used a false name..."

"No! On our wedding papers it says Hermione Granger!" Hermione told and Severus raised and eyebrow surprised.

"Ah, right. Albus changed it to make sure it was legal," he said with a sardonic smile. "Betrayal, lies," Severus trailed off with a sigh. Then without further comment he left.

Hermione sank into a chair and cried.

"He just needs to be alone, you know Severus better than anyone, he handles sorrow in his own way," Dumbledore said comfortingly.

"No... I was at his side, I promised to be at his side! I promised to support him!" Hermione took deep breaths to calm her down.

"He'll come around, everyone will..." Dumbledore said and got up from his chair. "I think Harry and Ron wishes to see you..." He remembered and Hermione got up.

"Madam Pomfrey said something about one week is one year in the past?" Hermione asked and Dumbledore nodded.

"It seems like it.

"Thank you Alb- professor..."

"Albus. Now, it's nearly time for lunch, I suggest you head down there. I will inform about the situation then, except the personal part between you and Severus," he smiled and Hermione hugged him tightly and cried a bit more. Then she left to meet Harry and Ron.

Hermione stepped inside, only the teachers had arrived.

"Hermione!" Minerva shrieked happily and got up from her chair to greet her friend. Minerva had helped Hermione so much in the past. She had been like a mother in a strange way.

"Minerva!" Hermione said and wiped away a tear and hugged her friend.

"Are you alright? I am so happy you're back!" Minerva took a close look at Hermione, "you're older, but then again, you were gone for four years..." McGonagall followed her up to the head table.

"Mrs. Snape!" Flitwick greeted excited and Hermione shook his hand.

"Filius," she said happily to see him. She looked down the table to see the friendly eyes of an excited Remus. "Remus!" She said almost breathless, he got up and hurried over to hug her. Hermione cried in his arms. "I'm so sorry! I wanted to prevent them from dying, but I couldn't!" Hermione cried, "I missed you all! It hurts so much! I am so sorry!" Hermione cried, she faintly noticed somebody take a seat at the table; Remus padded her gently on the back.

"Hermione," Remus said, she looked up and turned her head to see Severus pretend not to notice her. She looked at Severus for a moment and she was just about to speak when somebody yelled her name out.

"HERMIONE!" Hermione turned to see Harry and Ron standing near the Gryffindor table with a great smile. She cried and ran towards them and hugged them. She hadn't seen then in four years!

"Wow, relax Herm," Harry said after she had attacked them. She then broke down again not even care about the looks of surprise people sent her. The Great Hall was almost filled with students who were looking at the crying Hermione.

"Hermione, are you okay? Why are you crying?" Ron asked nervous. Dumbledores voice cut through the air and everyone turned their gaze towards him.

"As you all have noticed, miss Granger's back," he smiled warmly to her and she vaguely returned it. "Many of you think she's been gone for only four weeks, but the truth is that she's been gone for four years," everyone stared at her, and Ron and Harry looked at her surprised. "She was sent to the past, one week was one years back there. She was sent to the time when most of your parents were in their seventh year, in 1975," many gasped surprised and gave her another curious look, "that explains why she looks older, she is in fact 21 years old..." Harry and Ron looked at her cautiously.

"Now, please give miss Granger some space," Dumbledore sat down and the tables filled themselves with food. Hermione sat down while Harry and Ron took a seat next to her.

"Four years... That explains the hug you gave us," Harry said trying to cheer her up. She smiled vaguely.

"What's happened while I was gone?" She asked and Harry and Ron told her about things. She cast a quick glance up at Severus, for a second it looked like he was returning the gaze, but no... Hermione almost didn't eat anything that evening. She just listened to her surroundings and then got up and left. Harry and Ron both sighed unhappily as they watched Hermione leave, they weren't the only one to look after her, at the head table a sad man sat keeping an eye on the young woman all the time.

Hermione lay down on her bed in her head girl room. The tears started falling before she then cried. She missed Severus so much, but she knew Dumbledore was right, he needed time. He had called her miss Granger! He probably hated her.

"Hermione," a voice said and Hermione turned towards the fireplace, "I am sorry to disturb you, I was just concerned..."

"That's okay, I should get up anyway..."

"I've sent a letter to the ministry telling about our situation, they'll set up a meeting with you. I just find it stupid for you to take classes when you've already done them..." Dumbledore gave her a heavy sigh and Hermione nodded.

"Thank you... Should I tell Harry and Ron about Severus?"

"That would be an idea... You don't have to attend any classes tomorrow, it Friday anyway so you can use the day to retrieve your strengths and talk with Harry and Ron, and if there's a chance, Severus...." Hermione nodded and the headmaster wished her goodnight.

She lay down in her bed exhausted. Tears were still streaming silently down her cheek and then she fell asleep.

Hermione met up with Harry and Ron around lunch, they had just ended the day's last class.

"Harry and Ron, can I talk with you..."

"Sure," Harry said and took a sip from his pumpkin juice. Hermione awaited for them to get up, but nothing happened. She sighed impatiently.

"Now, privately!" She said raised an eyebrow coldly that made those watching her, shiver.

"Wow, back off!" Ron said almost knocking over his glass, "you remind me off Snape!" Ron let out a stream of air and was about to get up.

"Does she really?" A silky voice asked and Hermione wheeled around to face Severus.

"I'm sorry professor," Ron stuttered and Hermione sighed coldly. Why should he apologise? He hadn't done anything inappropriate.

"Ten points from Gryff..."

"I don't think so Severus!" Hermione sent him a sharp look that he hadn't gotten since they were together.

Snape looked at her surprised, but then retrieved his usual cold self.

"Harry, Ron, come along!" Hermione ordered but Harry and Ron didn't move. Severus was sending Hermione a death glare and most of the Gryffindors was watching closely. She had just used his first name!

"And where, do you suppose, you're going?" Severus asked through gritted teeth.

"I don't _suppose_, I know!" Hermione sneered back in a low voice. "They have the right to know!" She answered his unspoken question.

"Tell them everything and leave me out! Seems you're good at that!" Severus spat back coldly. More people turned to see what was going on.

"SEVERUS!" Hermione nearly yelled, "You left me completely careless of what had happened to me! I told you the truth and you couldn't handle it!

"You..." Severus started out.

"Or maybe you didn't care about what had happened to me..." Hermione said with a slow voice and Severus nearly stopped breathing. "Harry, Ron, get up. NOW!" Hermione said and pulled them up from their seats. She cast one hell of glare towards Severus before leaving the Great Hall pushing Harry and Ron along. Severus turned at around and cast a deadly look at everyone who dared to look at him. Then he hurried after Hermione.

"HOLLY!" Severus yelled just before she turned down the corridor to her dorm. "DON'T YOU JUST WALK AWAY FROM ME!" He yelled furiously and Hermione stopped. She had walked away from him before and she had told him why! She turned towards Severus who had become quiet.

"There's nothing more to talk about! You know how I feel; I am just waiting for you to make the next move. Harry and Ron needs to know whether you like it or not!" Hermione turned around to lead Harry and Ron to her room.

"DON'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME LIKE THIS!" Severus roared. He wasn't finished with her, but on the other hand, that was just an excuse to express his feelings. He hurried after her.

"You can come if you like," Hermione said leaving the door to her rooms open. Severus hesitated but entered closing the door behind him.

"Hermione, why are you calling professor Snape by his first name?" Harry asked guarded and shot Snape a glare. Snape stood next to the door.

"You'll know in some minutes, now sit down," Hermione barked. She looked more like Severus every minute. Severus couldn't help but smile amused as the two boys took a seat fast.

Hermione breathed in and out unsteadily before telling her tale.

"Before I begin, I must ask you not to talk until I'm all finished, that goes for you too, Severus," Hermione looked at him sorrowfully, he didn't say or do anything. She took a seat and relaxed.

"As you know I was sent back to the year 1975, when your mom and dad, Harry, was on their seventh year..." Hermione started and Harry opened his mouth but closed it respectfully obeying her request not to speak. "I was sent back in time and I couldn't get back. Albus tried to help me back, but before we had found a way, I could do nothing but attend the school and make friends..." she paused dramatically, "I became friends with your mother and a girl called Miranda," some tears slipped from her face but she hurriedly brushed them away. "I became friends with Sirius, Remus, Peter and James too, I wanted to prevent them from dying, I really did! But I couldn't! I knew I shouldn't change the future!" Hermione cried and burrowed her face in her hands. She tried to steady herself before going on, "I was so good friends with them, I loved them so much. I made another friend..." Hermione trailed off looking over at Severus. Both Harry and Ron followed her gaze and knew exactly what she was talking about.

Hermione went on with the story and told about her life and that she had fallen in love with Severus. Severus quietly took a seat in a chair not knowing what to do. The girl in front of him, his wife, was pouring her heart out trying to explain. The story ended and Harry and Ron just looked at Hermione.

"Wow... that's... that's a surprise..." Harry said scratching his head. Severus snorted and Hermione shot him a cold glare. She had told everything except the part of her being pregnant, she didn't wish to tell too much private.

"But if you love each other, then it's alright. We're behind you 100 % percent..." Ron promised and looked at Snape, "you too professor..." he said carefully and Snape looked at him mildly surprised.

"But... ehem..." Harry cleared his throat, "we'll just leave you two alone then, see you later Herm," Harry hugged her loosely and so did Ron before they left. Severus was still sitting in the chair completely dim.

"In 19 years I've thought you left me because of Lupin, or, or Black!" Severus said quietly and Hermione looked at him surprised.

"How could to ever think that?" She asked confused.

"I know now! But you seemed so close! You always hang out with Black, like a friend maybe, but it was different with Lupin. You seemed so close! I got home that night! You were gone and a note lay on the table! I didn't know what to think! I stressed out and panicked, I went through your stuff to see if you had left any hint! I saw a picture with you and the other _Gryffindors_ in! You held around each other's waists! You have always been such good friends! I was, I was destroyed!" Severus cried out and paced frantically around the room. "I needed a reason..."

"I would never cheat on you! I loved... I LOVE you!" Hermione cried watching him walk around.

"You could at least give me some kind of hint that you were alright! You just left with a short note!"

"I couldn't write! I was too weak!" Hermione tried.

"I went looking for you. I looked for years! Every time I saw somebody with brown hair I hurried after her to see if it was you. You drove me mad! You made me become a Death Eater! How could you do that if you loved me?"

"Because certain things needed to happen! You needed to spy for Albus! It was important!"

"I lost my life when I became a Death Eater! Then I remembered! You told me that one day I would know who had killed them, I knew it was _HE_! He wanted to kill the Potters too, I knew you loved them and would never forgive me if I let it happen, so I went to Dumbledore, I'm here because of you! I went through hell! I killed and I raped! Every woman I looked at reminded me of something about you! I was lost! Then one day you just showed up! Eleven years old! I was so frustrated!" Severus sank into a chair almost crying.

"I am so sorry! I wanted so much to tell you everything!" Hermione cried and slipped down from her chair. She sat in front of Severus looking up at him with tears in her eyes. "I wanted to live... I wanted to give you a child... but I failed. I am so horrible!" Hermione got up and tried to move away from him, but he caught her arm. He stood up and pulled her into his arms.

"I have missed you so much. I have missed holding you close, making love, kissing you, everything about you!" Severus told letting his face sink into her hair. "I understand, I am just hurt," tears fell down his cheeks as they stood holding around each other. "Dammit! I love you so much! It all just happened so fast... We were great, we had just been on our third honeymoon, and you were still meeting with my mother. You had brought the family closer together with love..." He cried into her hair. "You always smiled and helped me through everything! You helped me through seventh year, you were always there, until one day, you were just gone!" The last time he had cried like this was when she had just left him. They both stood crying in each other's arms for hours. Hermione pulled him over to her bed and lay down close to him.

That night they slept close to each other's bodies, careful not to move an inch away from each other.

Severus woke up around ten, he looked around. She was gone.

"HOLLY!" Severus was wrapped up in the duvet so when he leaped out of the bed he fell to the ground.

"Severus!" Hermione said and place a tray with breakfast on the nightstand. Severus looked at her and unwrapped himself. Hermione helped him up with a smirk, "don't worry, I won't leave you again..." She made him get into bed again and then got in bed herself along with the tray with breakfast for both of them.

"What ever happened to our house?" Hermione asked after a while.

"I couldn't make myself sell it, I thought you would return home... Then at your first year I realised you would never come back, something had gone on that I didn't know about, I didn't understand it. Then I sold it..." Hermione gave him a curt smile, she didn't care about the house, only him. She leaned into his embrace after breakfast. "I love you..." Hermione could hear that he was uncertain of what to call her.

"Mrs. Snape?" She reminded him with a blushing smile.

"I am still confused and very hurt. But, I love you more than anything... I am just so much older now..." Severus sighed sadly thinking about his age compared to hers.

"I don't care about your age, you're only, what, 40?" She said with small smile.

"And you're 21..." He scowled and tugged her closer. He held his hand up in front of them.

"You've gotten on your wedding ring," Hermione recognised the golden ring around his finger, she had the same one on, and on the other hand she had her engagement ring.

"I've never taken it off," he kissed her forehead deeply. "It's one of the only things I've kept, this and our picture book..." He grieved.

"Can I see it?" Hermione requested quietly, Severus looked at her surprised. He was uncertain of how he expected her to behave. Of course she would wish to see it, she loved him. She wouldn't have left if she didn't have to. He got out of bed quickly, Hermione looked confused at him.

"Come," he said and Hermione got out of bed too. Severus withdrew a small pouch with floo powder and cast some of it in her fire. Green flames appeared and Severus took her hand and brought her with him into the fire where they stood close. "Severus Snapes private rooms, Hogwarts," she heard him say and they disappeared only to reappear two seconds later in an unfamiliar fire. She was in Severus's private quarters.

She took a peek around in the rooms. The main room was the living room, then there was a kitchen and a great bathroom. His bedroom looked like it had did when she had lived with him, she felt a twinge in her heart and a tear fell down her cheek. Severus retrieved the album from a closet in his bedroom and brought it to the bed where Hermione had made herself comfortable. They sat closely together as they turned the first page, it was some pictures of both Hermione and Severus.

Hermione had put in the picture she had gotten from Miranda. The couple on the picture were happy and kissing. Hermione felt Severus leaning closer to her before turning the next page. They were so happy. Hermione began to sob a little as she saw the pictures of their wedding and then their honeymoon.


	13. 13

**Thirteenth chap.– It's not easy coming back**

_AN: Here's the last chapter. I want to thank everyone who has reviewed, you've made me keep writing! Thank so very much! I also wish to point out, again, that my native tongue is Danish, so I do hope you'll excuse my slip-ups. Thank you very much!_

Hermione had just gotten out from a long refreshing shower. She was hungry and a bit tired.

The days since her arrival had been long, she had talked with Harry and Ron and explained about things and she had had a long talk with Severus. They had stayed in Hermiones room after Harry and Ron had left, and spent the night together in each other's arm. Next day she had seen pictures and cried a bit more, and now she was alone, standing in front of the mirror getting dressed.

She looked judgingly at herself in the mirror, she looked pale.

"Miss, you have company, should I let them in?" The picture guarding Hermiones door asked.

"Yes please," Hermione answered and she heard the door open. She had been very unlucky to have that picture guarding her door, it was a picture of a elderly witch, really chattering witch. Sometimes she was never in her frame, making Hermione stand outside her door and wait. She chuckled quietly, that was over four years ago.

"Hullo," Rons voice said from the doorframe.

"Hi," Hermione turned towards Ron and Harry. They were accompanying her to the Great Hall for dinner, just at they had did before she left.

"Hey..." Harry said a bit off.

"What's wrong?" They left her room and headed for dinner.

"I was just wondering, if its not too much, could you tell me about my parents?" Harry asked looking down the floor.

"Of course Harry," Hermione suddenly hugged him. She let go of him and they resumed their walking. "They were wonderful. Your father was a real prat sometimes," Hermione laughed, "but sweet and nice. Your mother was my best girlfriend. Along with Miranda. Once there was a prom, it was amazing, it was around Christmas I think..." Hermione talked on about how they had gotten dressed, she stopped remembering something. "Just a minute!" She hurried up to the Head table.

"Hermione," Dumbledore greeted.

"Albus, I was wondering if you still have the picture book I asked you to get?" Dumbledore smiled and flicked his wand. He always flicked his wand, Hermione noticed. The book appeared in front of her. A tear fell, this was the picture book she had asked him to get in her home with Severus. There would be pictures of her friends... She slowly opened the book and took a deep breath.

The first page was a picture with them all, Sirius, James, Lily, Peter, Remus, Miranda and herself, smiling and waving. Underneath every single person had written something weird, Hermione giggled for a moment forgetting that she was standing in front of the headmaster.

"I had completely forgotten what was written," Hermione muttered, Remus sat close by and Hermione showed him the book. He too let out a laugh.

"Oh I remember this so very clearly," he said and flipped through the pages, "Severus, look," Remus handed the book to Severus who was sitting next to him. He frowned quietly and looked in the book. He couldn't repress a small smile. Hermione had her own picture book with pictures of her friends, beside the private picture book she shared with him. The picture Severus was looking at, was one where he was making a potion in a potion lesson. He was reading instructions not even noticing that somebody slipped something in the potion making it explode. That Miranda girl was always carrying a camera with her, she reminded Severus of that blasted Colin Creevy thing.

"That was Black?" Severus blurted out incredulously. "I knew one of you had something to do with it, I've never screwed up a potion!" Severus stated almost too proudly and both Remus and Hermione laughed. "What? You know it's true Hol..." Severus shut up.

"Holly, yes. Maybe not technically, but in my heart my name is not only Hermione, but Holly too," Hermione smiled.

"What about Mrs. Snape?" Professor Sprout, Sylvesta Sprout, asked. Hermione blushed and looked at Severus.

"Well..." Hermione said a bit hesitative.

"That would suffice, we _are_ married..." Severus cut in low with a smirk and Hermione once more blushed.

"I have to get back to Harry and Ron, I promised Harry to show him some of the photos, there's even some of his parents wedding!" Hermione smiled and hurried off.

"Look," Hermione took a seat between Harry and Ron.

"Wow..." Harry said as he stared at his best friend surrounded by his parents and some others.

"Wormtail..." Harry mumbled bitterly. "Were you friends with him too?"

"It was tough..." Hermione said quietly, "When I first laid eyes upon him. I felt like throwing up all the time. It was horrible... I learned to live with him... Even if his future was against him..." Hermione sobbed quietly and Harry held around her comfortingly.

"I didn't mean to make you cry Herm, I just..."

"It's okay Harry, I understand you..." Hermione said and dried her eyes. "Go on..." She smiled as Harry went to the next page. It was prom. Miranda had taken a picture of Lily and Hermione together in they dresses.

"That was the prom you talked about?" Harry questioned. "WOW!" Harry blurted out followed by Ron almost screamed, "BLOODY HELL!" Most people looked over at them and Harry and Ron fell to the floor in laughter. Hermione blushed and asked to get up from the floor, through gritted teeth.

"HAHAHA!" Harry was still looking at a picture with them all looking completely ridicules. They wandered around on the picture, playing animals. The next picture wiped the grin off of their faces.

"BLIMEY!" Ron exclaimed as he looked at the picture. It was Hermione and Severus in the kiss they shared at the prom. Their first kiss. Hermione could sometimes damn Miranda for having that blasted camera with her all the time, but she was in another way happy, it was nice to have the picture of a perfect time. "Is that who I bloody think it is?" Ron looked up at the teachers who were gazing back at them with interest for what was happening.

"Sch Ron!" Hermione hissed, "yes..." Hermione started out but was cut off by Malfoy. Malfoy snapped the book from Harry and Hermione rushed up almost right away. She would not let him look at those pictures.

"What is this?" He asked interested taking a step behind Grabbe and Goyle so that Hermione couldn't get to him. Severus and Remus was almost on their feet right away along with Minerva, but was calmed down by Albus. "I am quite sure that Hermione knows what to do, in fact, I can't wait," he exclaimed excited to the teachers surprise. He usually didn't allow duelling, but this time he would make an exception. It would be fun.

"That is none of your business!" Hermione sneered daggering him with her eyes. People had turned to see what was happening.

"Why's that Granger? Secrets? It is just pictures... I could need something new _inspiration_ to when I meet you..." He let out a laugh and Hermione got out her wand.

"You little fool, give it back or you will finally get what you deserve!" Hermione spat furiously at him. Her eyes were darting, but he was just smirking at her.

"Haven't we gotten temperamental..." He said. Draco Malfoy had gotten more unpleasant since he hadn't become head boy. That title went to Pansy Parkinson.

"Yes, _we_ have, and I will make sure you'll find out just how _temperamental_ I've gotten, if you don't give it back!" Hermione informed him coldly not moving her eyes away from him. He smiled viciously and stepped some few steps back more letting Grabbe and Goyle handle Hermione if she tried to stop him from opening the book. He smirked and opened the book.

Everything happened so fast and a flash of light lightened the Great Hall. Some gasped and looked at the former Grabbe and Goyle. They were pigs.

"Unless, you wish to join them, you hand over that book!" Hermione said out loud. Malfoy stood motionless not knowing if he should surrender or what he should do. Too many seconds had gone by without answering and Hermione bowed lightly before saying: "you remember what professor Moody turned you into, don't you, ferret-boy?" Hermione questioned quickly and a second after he was turned into it. The picture book fell to the floor and Hermione collected it.

"I'm sorry for the little scene, professors," Hermione said out loud towards the professor.

"That's alright Hermione!" Minerva smiled back and under her breath mumbled¨"20 points to Gryffindor."

Hermione looked at the three former Slytherins and smirked.

"Wow Herm, that was bloody brilliant!" Ron informed and looked at Malfoy who was trying to escape from the crowd, but Hermione stopped him. Severus got up from his seat finally and moved towards the 'scene'.

"Well, unfortunately I can't let them stay like this, that would be inappropriate, besides, it seems that _Severus_ is on his way," She sighed dramatically and flicked her wand before Severus did it.

The three Slytherins became students again looking slightly baffled. People were laughing at them.

Draco Malfoy looked hopefully at Severus hoping he would punish her.

"30 points from Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy. I expect never to see this behaviour from your side again," Snape moved towards the exit of the Great Hall with people looking after him surprised.

"Did he just..." Harry said and looked at Ron for confirmation that he wasn't mad or had seen visions.

Malfoy narrowed his eyes at Hermione "you were lucky this time Granger," he said before turning to leave the Great Hall, with his two dim-witted bodyguards.

"You'd believe a failure like that would shut his mouth," Hermione said and took a seat next to Harry and Ron again. "Bastard..."

"Oy, that was totally cool!" Seamus exclaimed some seats away from them.

"Did you get married while being gone?" Lavender asked looking at Hermiones hand that lay on top on the picture book on the table.

"That's a beautiful ring!" Parvati gasped reaching for Hermiones hand to get a closer look, but Hermione pulled her hand away before she could reach it.

"You got married?" Neville asked gaping at her surprised.

"No... No..." Hermione tried to lie; she was such a bad liar. "No I didn't I bought it..." It seemed that people apparently believed her. She relaxed. That last thing she wanted to do, was to explain that she was married to the 'greasy git of a potions master'.

"Hermione, can we talk after dinner?" Remus asked quietly.

"Yes, of course Remus. We can go now, I've already eaten..." Hermione said goodbye to Harry and Ron before leaving the Great Hall with Remus. "What's wrong?" They headed to his office.

"Nothing really, it's just really good to have you back. I've been really..." he sighed and gesticulated not sure of what to say.

"I've thought about it... I can see how it must have been for you all when you first laid eyes upon me. You at my third year..." she looked down the floor. "I was so sorry. I don't know if you ever noticed how I acted in front of Wormtail, I really just wanted to kick him hard..." Hermione chuckled for a moment. "Whatever happened to Miranda?"

"She was killed..." He paused tiredly; "I have something to show you..." he went over to his desk and pulled something out of the drawer.

"What's this?" Hermione asked as Remus handed a box to her.

"It's just some pictures from after you were gone and then some notes... Sirius and I wrote together after your third year. You may never have noticed, but we kept glancing at you in the howling house... I had an idea of what had happened, I just wanted to tell Sirius about it... We started to write together and talk about you... You have no idea how much we loved you, you were like family to us. Sirius and you had no parents, you and him were so good friends..." A tear fell from both of them. Hermione remembered. Sirius was the one she had been closest to of the boys, except from Severus. Sirius and her, they were like sister and bro...

"I loved you so much too, I can't even explain how difficult it was..." she held her hands around the box securely. "What happened afterwards? Did you ever talk with Severus?"

"We tried, we helped him try and find you... neither of us understood, you loved him so much, didn't understand how you could just leave... But then we failed to find you. No one had seen you. You were completely gone. Severus never forgave us from stopping searching for you. I think he suspected that we knew where you were..." Lupin took a seat and breathed out strongly, "When I came to work here at Hogwarts on your third year... I had never seen you before you entered the Great Hall. I had no idea what was going on... Severus hated me so much. He was ordered by Dumbledore to make the Wolfsbane every month. He would want nothing to do with me beside that... He told me that..."

"It's less than I week since I saw you all... Smiling and having fun. Lily was pregnant and you all just had fun..." Hermiones lips began to quiver threateningly. "Thank you Remus, I don't know what I would do without you..."

"You're welcome... Will you go see Severus now?" 

"No... I think I'll let him come to me... He needs time to deal with things; I don't want to push him..." She paused and looked down at the box, "I think I'll head to my room," she got up along with Remus and hugged him tightly. "Thank you."

Hermione sat in her bad with the box. In contained a lot of pictures of Remus, Lily, James, Peter, and Miranda. There were a lot of different pictures. There was some of Lily and James, some of Remus, James, Sirius and Peter.

Hermione read the letters Remus and Sirius had sent to each other, she couldn't help it, she just started to cry.

"Holly..." A voice said and Hermione looked up surprised at Severus, "didn't mean to shock you. Used the floo to get here..." Severus apologised.

"It's okay," she dried her eyes quickly and put the things into the box again. Severus came into the bed with her and held around her.

"Are you alright?" He asked warily.

Hermione didn't respond, she tugged herself into Severus's embrace. "Please don't ever leave me Holly, I love you so much..." Severus whispered in her ear and held her closer.

"I promise you, I will never ever leave you again..."

_**The End**_


End file.
